GPhC received 25 whistleblowing disclosures in a year

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has revealed it has received 25 whistleblowing disclosures between April 2021 and March 2022.

The pharmacy regulator said, in its annual report, that it has concluded enquiries on 22 disclosures so far with a further three still under review.

“We also concluded two qualifying disclosures that were raised during the previous reporting period,” it said, adding: “The action GPhC took included a full investigation through established fitness to practise processes and follow-up action through its inspection network.

“The former can result in any available outcome throughout the fitness to practise process. The latter can include guidance, a follow-up visit or an unexpected inspection.”

12 concerns were investigated and concluded with no further action. Three were signposted to another organisation. The remaining seven cases were concluded by sharing information with inspection colleagues for follow up action.

Of the two concerns from the previous reporting period, one was concluded with no further action and the other remains under investigation.

The GPhC said: “None of the disclosures had an impact on our ability to perform our regulatory functions and meet our objectives during the reporting period. We use all concerns raised with us to inform our standards and guidance development.”

“Protected disclosures also inform our operational processes and approach to understanding what the most appropriate regulatory lever is to achieve the best outcome.

“The concerns raised with inspectors and the associated guidance in response to the concerns, including those that arise through inspections, are widely shared to ensure learning across the organisation. These issues inform our work on understanding the experiences of pharmacy professionals in the working environment and also inform our work on ensuring safe and effective pharmacy teams.”

The GPhC, in conjunction with seven other healthcare professional regulators, published its annual report on whistleblowing disclosures. All prescribed bodies have a legal responsibility to publish an annual report on the whistleblowing disclosures made to them by workers.