The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has called for pharmacists to "speak up" and challenge poor practice, in its proposed changes to the standards for the profession.

In order to provide high quality care, pharmacists must be "open and honest when things go wrong" and be able to learn from feedback and concerns from patients and colleagues, the regulator said 

The consultation, which launched today (April 4), will gather views on nine core standards that pharmacy professionals must meet. These could replace both the existing standards of conduct, ethics and performance for pharmacists and the codes of conduct for students and trainees.

Raising concerns

One of the key changes is the need for pharmacists to “raise a concern, even when it is not easy to do so” and support others who wish to do so. They must also apologise and provide an explanation when things go wrong, the regulator said in its draft standards.

The nine standards also propose that pharmacists should provide tailored care to patients, and stress that empathy and compassion are a "key part" of acting professionally.

GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin said that – as the public's expectations of pharmacy professionals are growing – the regulator has to make sure it "has got the right standards for today and for the future". 

The draft standards were developed following a national discussion on patient-centred professionalism undertaken by the GPhC last year, it added.

GPhC chair Nigel Clarke urged pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to respond to the consultation so that the standards “represent a collective view of what is expected of pharmacy professionals".

The consultation will run for 12 weeks, before closing on June 27, the regulator said.

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