The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has given temporary registration to over 6,000 former pharmacy professionals, who can now return to work during the current COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
This comes after Health Secretary Matt Hancock asked the GPhC to use its emergency powers to rapidly register pharmacy professionals in response to the national health emergency.
According to GPhC, the temporary register includes pharmacy staff who had "voluntarily removed themselves" or "were removed for non-renewal" from the regulator's register in the past three years but did not have any 'fitness-to-practise' issues.
"These 6,241 pharmacy professionals can now practise in the UK if they choose to do so during the COVID-19 pandemic. They will be required to meet the standards for pharmacy professionals, including working within the limits of their skills and competence," GPhC wrote in a statement.
