New GPhC acceptance criteria “aim to reduce number of avoidable concerns”

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has introduced new acceptance criteria, offering clearer guidance on how concerns about pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and registered pharmacies are assessed.

The updated criteria, published alongside a detailed guidance document, set out which issues may be referred for a fitness‑to‑practise investigation and which may lead to inspection or enforcement action. The changes follow a year in which the GPhC received more than 7,500 concerns—the highest volume in the regulator’s history.

According to the GPhC, the revised approach is intended to strengthen patient safety, improve transparency, and reduce the number of concerns submitted that fall outside the organisation’s regulatory remit.

Supporting better understanding among the public and the profession

The new criteria aim to give the public and pharmacy professionals a clearer understanding of when the GPhC should be involved. They outline:

• the types of issues that genuinely raise questions about a registrant’s fitness to practise
• the standards expected of registered pharmacies and how to identify when those standards are not met
• the circumstances in which the regulator must intervene to protect patient safety or uphold public confidence

By clarifying these boundaries, the GPhC hopes to reduce inappropriate or misdirected concerns while ensuring that serious matters continue to be escalated promptly and consistently.

Dionne Spence, Chief Enforcement Officer at the General Pharmaceutical Council, said:

“These updated criteria provide more clarity about which concerns fall within our remit, improving transparency and strengthening our risk-based approach.

“By improving understanding of when we need to be involved and when we don’t, we expect to reduce avoidable concerns and focus our regulatory effort where it makes the greatest difference to patient safety and public trust.

“We have also made our webpage on reporting concerns easier to understand, so anyone with a concern can direct it to the right place where it can be dealt with as effectively as possible.”

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