GPhC launches consultation to boost equality, diversity, and inclusion

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has started a consultation on its five-year strategy to deliver equality, improve diversity and foster inclusion.

The consultation is open until July 12 and seeks views on the proposals' impact on patients, the public, pharmacy professionals, and employers.

“The 12-week consultation seeks views on the GPhC’s proposals to be more proactive and joined up in using its regulatory influence and levers to help reform the structures and practices that maintain inequality and discrimination within pharmacy and pharmacy regulation,” the pharmacy regulator said in an update yesterday (April 20).

The strategy recognises that professional regulators, the public they serve and the professionals they regulate face many complex and important equality, diversity and inclusion challenges.

The strategy is also sets out three key themes to help transform the GPhC’s approach to equality, diversity and inclusion.

The GPhC’s three key themes are:

• to make regulatory decisions that are demonstrably fair, lawful, and so free from discrimination and bias
• to use our standards to proactively help tackle discrimination in all pharmacy settings and make sure everyone can access person-centred care, fostering equality of health outcomes, and
• to lead by example and demonstrate best practice within our organisation, holding ourselves to the same high standards we expect of others.

GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin said:  “This strategy brings a new focus and energy to our efforts to progress how we deliver equality, improve diversity and foster inclusion.  It provides a framework for the delivery of this work, across our organisation, in support of our Vision 2030 and Strategic Plan 2020-2025.

“For this strategy to be effective, we will need to work collaboratively with our colleagues and stakeholders across pharmacy to make this happen.  We welcome views on our proposals to help us achieve our aims.”