Last March, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) postponed the revalidation submission date for registrants who were due to submit between March 20 and August 31, “due to the challenges and pressures on the pharmacy sector…and the increasing number of cases of COVID-19”, it said at the time.

Registrants with a renewal deadline of between September 1 and December 31 were later told to only submit a reflective account for their revalidation entry that year.

In an update posted on its website yesterday (March 3), the GPhC said it would “continue this approach” in recognition of the continuing pressures on the sector.

Those due to renew their registration on or before November 30, 2021 and whose registration expires on or before January 31, 2022, will only have to submit a reflective account when it comes to renewing, the regulator explained.

“Pharmacy professionals are still expected to reflect on one or more of the following three standards when completing their reflective account: standard 3 - pharmacy professionals must communicate effectively;  standard 6 - pharmacy professionals must behave professionally; and standard 9 - pharmacy professionals must demonstrate leadership,” the GPhC said.

It also encouraged registrants to reflect on their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic when completing their submissions.

The myGPhC platform will be updated to reflect the change in requirements, the regulator said.

It aims to resume full revalidation requirements for those pharmacy professionals with renewal dates from December 1, 2021 and expiry dates from February  1, 2022, “but we will keep this under review and provide an update later in the year”, the GPhC concluded.