The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has appointed a new provider, BTL Group Ltd, to conduct its common registration assessment sittings, which it holds jointly with the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
GPhC chief executive, Duncan Rudkin, said: “I’m pleased to confirm that we have appointed BTL as the supplier for the common registration assessment for the next 3 years after a thorough tender process.
“The information provided by BTL during the tender process has given us the necessary assurance that they can support us in continuing to deliver a fair and robust assessment that tests candidates’ ability to register as a pharmacist. We will now work closely with BTL on arrangements for the sittings in 2022, to make sure we can provide a positive experience for candidates."
BTL has extensive experience of delivering services to a range of clients, including the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Royal College of Ophthalmology.
Before BTL, GPhC had a contract with Pearson Vue to conduct online assessment in 2021.
Candidates will sit the assessment online in a network of test centres set up across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The GPhC and PSNI will jointly run two sittings in 2022, with the next sitting scheduled in June this year.
Pharmaceutical Society NI Chief Executive and Interim Registrar, Trevor Patterson said: “We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with the GPhC and building on the success of the November registration assessment by jointly delivering a UK wide common registration assessment for trainee pharmacists with the new provider BTL.”
Expressing pleasure over the new contract, BTL managing director, Sonya Whitworth, said, "we look forward to sharing our experience and that of the Surpass Community with the experts at the GPhC.”
Detailed information for candidates will be made available on the GPhC website, and all eligible candidates will be contacted in due course, the regulator said.
Cat Smith, Labour MP for Lancaster and Wyre