The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has postponed the upcoming pre-registration assessments due to COVID-19.
The regulator will decide to hold the exams, which were due between June and October, towards the end of the year or early in 2021, once the current situation gets clearer.
In a statement on Thursday, it said the decision was made in recognition of “the significant pressures that pre-registration trainees are currently working under and the major impact this is having on their ability to prepare for the registration assessment for trainees in Great Britain and the PSNI Exam for trainees in Northern Ireland.”
“The GPhC and PSNI are now working as quickly as possible to develop plans for the period between now and the rescheduled assessments, including the possibility of a form of provisional registration for current pre-registration trainees,” the statement added.
In it’s response, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society said it “fully supports” the postponement which “recognises the unprecedented and challenging circumstances that many pre-registration pharmacist trainees are in and will enable them to focus on their own wellbeing whilst at the same time providing care to patients.”
The pharmacy body also supports the idea of “provisional registration” because it will help trainees to progress “without adversely affecting workforce numbers.”
