Some 3,500 more pharmacy technicians than expected have applied to join the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) register, the regulator revealed last week. The GPhC has received more than 20,500 applications and, at the end of last week (December 16), the number of registered technicians stood at 19,620. Most of the outstanding applications require supporting documentation or further information. Diane Meech, from the GPhC's registration department, said the error rate on applications received since July 1 has been between 40 and 50 per cent, and she urged applicants to spend time getting their applications and documentation together properly. The GPhC reported in September that it had brought in extra staff to help process technician applications after it received more applications for compulsory registration than it had anticipated. Registration became mandatory for technicians on July 1. Technicians who applied before the June 30 deadline can continue to work while their application is processed. Have you or one of your technicians gone the extra mile for patients in the past year? Find out how to enter the C+D Awards 2012 and you could be crowned the Pharmacy Technician of the Year.