The GPhC continues its work to address the concerns we reported in our 2018/19 performance review about its fitness to practise function. Find out more below as well as how the GPhC responded to the pandemic. For this performance review period, we concluded that the GPhC has not met Standards 15, 16 and 18 of the Standards of Good Regulation.
The GPhC's response to the Covid-19 pandemic
The GPhC responded and adapted to the pandemic across its functions. Work was carried out remotely where possible. Up-to-date information for registrants and members of the public was published frequently on its website and it set up two additional registers; a temporary register and a provisional register.
General Standards: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
After consulting on proposals, the GPhC finalised its new EDI strategy. It monitored the evidence emerging about EDI in the context of Covid-19 and responded by incorporating this into its Strategy and EDI activities.
Education and Training: the Registration Assessment
The GPhC cancelled its 2020 sittings of the registration assessment because of the pandemic and brought forward existing plans to introduce an online format. A number of problems arose and the GPhC changed its arrangements a number of times, which proved confusing and unhelpful to many potential registrants. We received considerable feedback about this matter and considered how the problems affected our assessment of a number of Standards.
We were concerned because some of the issues were foreseeable and preventable. However, we were assured that the GPhC took prompt steps to rectify them. It also carried out a lessons learned review and implemented improvements before the next sittings in July 2021. We took account of the unprecedented and unforeseen circumstances created by the pandemic and decided that the issues that arose with the registration assessment did not lead to any Standards not being met.
Fitness to Practise: the GPhC's response to our 2018/19 performance review
The GPhC continues its work to address the concerns we reported in our 2018/19 performance review about its fitness to practise function. The pandemic delayed the GPhC’s action plan and adversely affected how quickly cases progressed. While we have seen improvements in some areas and consider that the direction of travel is positive, the GPhC has not yet fully addressed our concerns about timeliness, customer service and the transparency and clarity of some fitness to practise processes. We therefore concluded that the GPhC has not met Standards 15, 16 and 18 of the Standards of Good Regulation. The GPhC acknowledges that further improvement is needed and continues to work towards this. For some of the changes, it will take time to see evidence of their impact.