GPhC to remove pro regs from register who fail in March assessment

Provisionally registered pharmacists who fail in the March assessment will be removed from the provisional register, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has said in its latest update to the community pharmacy employers on Thursday (April 15).

Accordingly, provisionally registered pharmacists cannot continue to work in the existing capacity after April 29 if they fail in their exams.

Candidates who appeared the registration assessment on March 17 and 18 will receive their results by 0900am on April 29.

Those who pass the GPhC assessment will remain on the provisional register until they complete their application to join the register as a pharmacist, the pharmacy regulator said.

“We realise this will be very disappointing for the people who do not pass,” GPhC director of education and standards Mark Voce said in the email, who revealed that the regulator initially considered allowing prov-regs to continue work for a a short period of time after receiving the result.

Voce said they decided against as it would not be in the “best interests of patient safety given the objective evidence that they have not, as yet, passed the assessment.”

The pharmacy regulator has said that its latest policy will have an impact on employers, if any of the prov-regs working for them fails to pass the assessment, and urged them to discuss working arrangements with any prov-reg pharmacists they employ.

The GPhC has also encouraged employers to consider the unsuccessful candidates for a different role.

The pharmacy chain Well is offering a paid day off to its provisionally registered pharmacists who are expecting their GPhC registration exam results on April 29, whereas Lloydspharmacy has encouraged its prov-regs to book their annual leave on the same day.