Only 68% of online pharmacies were found to meet all regulatory standards at inspection, according to the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

The Pharmaceutical Journal reported that, presenting at The Pharmacy Show on 13 October 2023, Roz Gittins revealed that 68% of online pharmacies were found to meet all regulatory standards at inspection, 17 percentage points lower than for registered pharmacies overall. 

The GPhC also said it is currently reviewing 40 active fitness to practise cases linked to online pharmacy activities, the regulator’s chief pharmacy officer has confirmed.

Gittins addressed the Professional Standards Authority report published in September 2024, which concluded that the GPhC “is still taking too long to progress FtP investigations”.

“We know we’ve got a bit of an age cohort that we’re working really hard to work through and many of these pertain to online activities,” she said, adding that delays to closing these cases related to “numerous reasons”, including legal issues that she could not expand on.

The “aged” cases are expected to conclude “within the next few weeks and months”, said Gittins.

UK Fitness to Practise News

According to reports, the petition called on the NMC to:

“We are calling on the NMC to put mental health support mechanisms at the forefront of their operations.”

It added:

“The mental health crisis amongst NMC registrants is real, documented, and heartbreaking.

“Making mental health support accessible and prioritised within the NMC’s system should not be an afterthought – it should be a fundamental, top priority.

“By not prioritising this issue, the NMC betrays its duty of care towards its registrants – the hardworking, compassionate individuals that form its very foundation.”

In response, executive director of professional regulation at the NMC, Lesley Maslen, said:

“We’re sorry to anyone whose wellbeing has suffered as a result of going through our fitness to practise processes.

“Our regulatory work brings us into contact with people in difficult or vulnerable circumstances, and we have not always taken the appropriate actions at the right point.

“To better protect people, we are now prioritising safeguarding in our regulatory work.’

She said the regulator had ‘invested significantly in our central safeguarding team by recruiting experts in safeguarding, mental health and training’ and that it had launched a ‘safeguarding hub to identify any support someone may need at the earliest point in our process’.

“We welcome the ongoing test and challenge from people who have lived experiences of our regulatory work,’ she added.

“It’s important that we’re held to account as we work towards our goal of improving the safety and quality of people’s experiences within our processes. We will work with professionals, our partners and the public to help us shape this critical work.”

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