The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) has found that the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) met 17 out of 18 of its Standards of Good Regulation during 2023-24.
The GPhC’s performance and that of other regulators is reviewed regularly by the PSA, with the results reported to the parliament.
This year’s report covers the period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024.
The PSA concluded that the GPhC has still not met Standard 15 relating to timeliness of fitness to practise (FTP) investigations. The regulator missed this standard last year too.
“We note the GPhC’s work to reduce the time it takes to progress cases through its FTP system and are aware of the pressure caused by another significant increase in the number of FTP referrals. However, because timeliness has deteriorated this year, we have concluded that Standard 15 is once again not met,” the PSA report said.
“We have written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee to provide an update on the GPhC’s performance, and we will continue to closely monitor the GPhC’s performance in this area.”
In the report, the PSA recognised the range of initiatives that the GPhC is taking forward as part of its strategy to improve timeliness, including creating a new chief enforcement officer role to oversee the end-to-end fitness to practise function, and a New Case Action Team to deal with cases from referral to investigation more swiftly.
The report references that the GPhC has seen a 30 per cent year on year increase in FTP referrals received since 2022, but over the last year has reduced the overall caseload by six per cent and the overall investigation caseload by just under 12 per cent.
Commenting on the report, Duncan Rudkin, chief executive of the GPhC, said ensuring a “fair, proportionate, and timely resolution” of FTP concerns remains the “highest priority” for the regulator.
“We recognise that there is some way to go but we are now seeing positive and sustained improvements in productivity and timeliness for dealing with cases, and we are confident that this will continue,” Rudkin added.
“We are pleased that the PSA have noted that despite the challenges faced, including a 30 per cent year on year increase in FTP referrals, we have demonstrated our ability to manage and mitigate potential risk through our interim order process, as well as retaining all other standards, including those in relation to accessibility and the fairness and quality of our decision making. We are also making significant reductions in our overall caseload.”
