The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has committed to scrapping its ‘satisfactory’ rating for premises inspections, following concerns over its prevalence and message to the public.

 

Finding an alternative to the ‘satisfactory’ rating was the “minimum” the regulator expected from its planned “urgent review” of its inspections rating model, it said in an update published on Monday (February 23).

 

The GPhC agreed with feedback from the model so far that levelled “particular criticism” at the ‘satisfactory’ label, and said it would be “avoided in any final ratings model”.

 

The regulator is planning to eventually publish its inspection ratings, but pledged to only make them public once it had developed “robust alternative labels” for pharmacies.

 

An analysis by Pharmacy Voice last year revealed that more than 90 per cent of inspections among its members had resulted in a ‘satisfactory’ rating, and GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin told C+D the changes to its model responded to “a widespread feeling” that it had not got its ratings system “quite right”.

 

Mr Rudkin admitted the GPhC would not “have all the answers” as to what an alternative ratings model would look like until it had consulted with owners, pharmacists, technicians, pharmacy bodies and the public as part of the review of its inspection model.

 

The regulator said it planned to launch its consultation “within weeks” of the laws that would allow it to publish inspection reports being put before Parliament. The Department of Health predicts this will happen next year.

 

Mr Rudkin stressed that consistency between inspections was a “hugely important theme”, and the GPhC had been trying to maintain “quality control” to ensure pharmacists had a “high level of confidence” that they would receive the same rating from different inspectors.

 

Pharmacy Voice board member Margaret MacRury said it was “encouraging” that the GPhC had stayed “true to its word” and was listening to feedback about its inspection model.

 

Pharmacy Voice had been “very clear” that the term ‘satisfactory’ could be misleading for the public. It hoped the regulator would now “address the breadth of its ratings” to prevent the “overwhelming majority” of pharmacies from receiving the same ranking, Ms MacRury added.