Skip to content

This Site is Intended for Healthcare Professionals Only

Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

GPhC appoints BTL Group to conduct common registration assessment

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has appointed a new provider, BTL Group Ltd, to conduct its common registration assessment sittings, which it holds jointly with the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

GPhC chief executive, Duncan Rudkin, said: “I’m pleased to confirm that we have appointed BTL as the supplier for the common registration assessment for the next 3 years after a thorough tender process.


“The information provided by BTL during the tender process has given us the necessary assurance that they can support us in continuing to deliver a fair and robust assessment that tests candidates’ ability to register as a pharmacist. We will now work closely with BTL on arrangements for the sittings in 2022, to make sure we can provide a positive experience for candidates."

BTL has extensive experience of delivering services to a range of clients, including the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Royal College of Ophthalmology.

Before BTL, GPhC had a contract with Pearson Vue to conduct online assessment in 2021.

Candidates will sit the assessment online in a network of test centres set up across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The GPhC and PSNI will jointly run two sittings in 2022, with the next sitting scheduled in June this year.

Pharmaceutical Society NI Chief Executive and Interim Registrar, Trevor Patterson said: “We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with the GPhC and building on the success of the November registration assessment by jointly delivering a UK wide common registration assessment for trainee pharmacists with the new provider BTL.”

Expressing pleasure over the new contract, BTL managing director, Sonya Whitworth, said, "we look forward to sharing our experience and that of the Surpass Community with the experts at the GPhC.”

Detailed information for candidates will be made available on the GPhC website, and all eligible candidates will be contacted in due course, the regulator said.

More For You

Call to improve inclusivity in clinical research

Ethnic minority adults continue to be underrepresented in clinical trials.

iStock

Call to improve inclusivity in clinical research

A NEW report has called for the participation of a wide range of diverse communities in clinical research to make sure that the medicines meet the needs of the UK's increasingly diverse population.

The report ‘Achieving inclusivity in clinical research’, prepared by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), highlights the long-standing challenges in ensuring diversity in clinical trials.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pharmacy students Learning Support Fund

Pharmacy students will be included in the Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses section of the NHS Learning Support Fund.

iStock

Pharmacy students to have access to Learning Support Fund

FOR the first time in England, pharmacy students will be eligible to reimburse travel and accommodation costs while attending placements.

The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed that pharmacy students would finally be included in the Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses (TDAE) section of the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF).

Keep ReadingShow less
NHS for robotic surgery

Patients undergoing robotic surgery are able to recover quicker and be discharged sooner.

Pic credit: iStock

NHS pushes for robotic surgery to reduce waiting time, improve outcomes

The NHS is planning to step up robotic surgery over the next decade to reduce waiting time, help in the speed of recovery of patients, and shorter hospital stay.

As per the NHS projections, the number is expected to zoom from 70,000 in 2023/24 to half a million by 2035.

Keep ReadingShow less
Scotland's digital patient care record

The amendment ensures that every person who receives health care or a social service in Scotland will have a digital care record

Pic credit: iStock

Scotland's move to create digital patient care record hailed

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in Scotland has welcomed the decision of the Scottish Parliament to create an integrated digital patient care record.

The move came during a debate on the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill on Tuesday (10), when Jackie Baillie tabled an amendment to ensure that every person who receives health care or a social service in Scotland has a digital care record.

Keep ReadingShow less
A woman using a period tracker app

Cambridge University academics have flagged concerns over the safety of period tracker apps

Pic credit: iStock

Users of period tracking apps face privacy, safety risk, say experts

The report said the apps provide a "gold mine" of data for consumer profiling and warn that in the wrong hands it could pose a safety risk

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY academics have flagged concerns over the safety of period tracker apps and warned that the women using them could face privacy and safety risks.

Keep ReadingShow less