The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) has found that the GPhC met 17 out of 18 of its Standards of Good Regulation during 2022/23

The GPhC’s performance and that of other regulators is reviewed regularly by the PSA, with the results reported to Parliament. The aim is to check how well regulators have been protecting the public and promoting confidence in health and care professionals and themselves.

This year’s report covers the period from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023. It found the GPhC met 17 out of 18 Standards of Good Regulation:

Standards Standards Met
General Standards 5 out of 5
Guidance and Standards 2 out of 2
Education and Training 2 out of 2
Registration 4 out of 4
Fitness to Practise 4 out of 5

 

The PSA report highlights the GPhC’s action taken in respect of online pharmacies, using intelligence from inspection work and analysis of fitness to practise data. The volume and breadth of the GPhC’s work in the area of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) was also recognised.

Insight Works Training

One of the Fitness to Practise standards relating to the amount of time it took for cases to be dealt with was not met. The PSA has subsequently written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Health and Social Care Committee about this and will continue to monitor the GPhC’s performance in this area. The GPhC has updated the Secretary of State and the Select Committee on our commitment and action plan to meet the PSA’s timeliness standard.

Chief Executive of the GPhC, Duncan Rudkin, said:

“We are pleased to have met 17 out of 18 standards this year and acknowledge there is still work to do in regard to Fitness to Practise.

“It is an absolute priority for everyone at the General Pharmaceutical Council to resolve our fitness to practise cases in a timely way, first and foremost to protect the public through responding to the concerns of the public and patients, to ensure fairness and transparency to registrants, and to meet the PSA’s Standards of Good Regulation. This is a key strand of our strategic commitment to deliver effective, consistent and fair regulation.

“We remain confident in our ability to take swift effective action where risk of harm is elevated. The PSA are satisfied that we continue to apply promptly for interim orders once we receive information indicating the need for one. We are assured that the issues relating to timeliness do not represent a risk to patient and public safety.

“We have put in place and are implementing a comprehensive action plan to deliver improvements in our Fitness to Practise work. As a result of this action plan, this year we have successfully regained two out of three previously unmet standards. This was a result of a sustained programme of work, with clear recognition from the PSA in the lead up to this outcome that embedding change takes time.

“Notwithstanding these improvements, we remain fully committed to regaining Standard 15 (the timeliness standard). We have a dedicated cross-organisational programme of work in place to achieve this outcome, and our Council is monitoring progress closely.”

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