GPhC revised plans for registration of internationally trained pharmacists

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) proposes ‘one route’ for overseas pharmacist registration following “feedback” on its previous proposals, it announced.

The GPhC’s Council has reviewed initial proposed approach in this area after carefully considering feedback from stakeholders. The Council has decided that we will develop a consultation proposing “one route to registration” for internationally-qualified pharmacists, which would take one year instead of the current two years. This one-year programme will include both university study and in-practice training.

Currently, pharmacists who qualified in an European Economic Area (EEA) country or a European Free Trade Association (EFTA) country can apply for recognition of their qualification. The recognition of EEA qualifications has been extended until September 2028, but from that point EEA-qualified pharmacists may also need to go through the single route for registration, depending on decisions made by the Government.

The GPhC said:

“We had previously been developing proposals for three routes to international registration, which would take different lengths of time, depending on how similar the education and training that the internationally-qualified pharmacist had completed was to pharmacist education and training in Great Britain. We have however decided to change this proposed approach after considering feedback from stakeholders.”

Duncan Rudkin, Chief Executive of the GPhC, said:

“While stakeholders generally welcomed the proposed approach to reduce the length of time and cost to complete the required education and training, some concerns were also raised about the fairness of the original proposals.

“Our Council has listened to these concerns. As an organisation we’re committed to delivering equality, improving diversity and being inclusive in all our work as a healthcare regulator and an employer. We want to make sure that all our proposals and policies protect the public and maintain standards in ways that are demonstrably inclusive and equitable.

“Our Council has therefore decided to propose having one single route to registration for all (non-EEA/EFTA) internationally-qualified pharmacists.

“We also want to focus our efforts at this point on taking forward the one-year programme, because a significant proportion of overseas applicants are applying from countries such as India, Pakistan and Nigeria, who would need to complete a one-year programme.

“We also intend that shortening the course from two years to one year, once implemented, will significantly reduce the burden for internationally-qualified pharmacists and help to increase the pharmacist workforce in the long-term.”

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