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The General Pharmaceutical Council is to recommend calling off proceedings against a “limited number” of individuals who currently face disqualification from pharmacy ownership.

The regulator announced this morning (July 21) that it is working to develop an “overarching policy” on the use of its disqualification powers under the Medicines Act 1968, with a “small number” of cases having been opened since these powers were extended in March 2018. 

No one has been disquaified as an owner for at least three years, the GPhC has told P3pharmacy. 

“We have recognised the need to develop a policy to support our teams investigating these cases and decision makers dealing with these cases,” said the regulator.

The GPhC said that as part of its efforts to put this policy together it has reviewed its open disqualification cases and has identified a handful where the pharmacy owner has “removed all of their associated premises from the register” since regulatory proceedings against them began.

“It would not be in the public interest to progress these cases,” the regulator continued, explaining that because these pharmacy owners do not have a registered pharmacy attached to them at present “there is no current risk to the public”. 

And pursuing these cases would use up “significant resource” despite the fact that there is no pharmacy to remove from the register in the event findings against the owner are upheld – “one of the main purposes” of holding a hearing, said the GPhC. 

The information it holds on such individuals can be taken into account to prevent them from owning another pharmacy in future, it added. 

“We believe that by taking this approach, we can still achieve our over-arching objective of protecting the public without holding full disqualification hearings,” said the GPhC, which plans to “invite our fitness to practise committee to close these cases on the basis they are no longer in the public interest”.

It concluded: “We will take steps to bring these cases to a resolution while we develop a full disqualification policy.”

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