The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has officially gained principal responsibility for pharmacy inspections in England.

The regulator has formed an agreement with the CQC, MHRA, NHS England and NHS Protect to avoid unnecessary duplication between the organisations and cut red tape, it announced yesterday (May 12).

The agreement is a formal – although not legally binding – commitment between the bodies to work together to regulate pharmacy, rather than conducting separate and often overlapping inspections.

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	It comes as a result of government proposals set out in September, which intended to cut the amount of time and money pharmacy teams spent on inspections. At the time, the government estimated the proposals would save pharmacy businesses £20,000 a year.

Pharmacy minister Earl Howe said the fresh agreement had "genuine potential" to make a difference to pharmacy businesses by freeing up "valuable time" for pharmacists to spend on patient care. England's chief pharmaceutical officer Keith Ridge also hailed the move as a "significant step forward".

GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin reiterated the benefits of having principal responsibility for conducting pharmacy inspections. "This will enable us to protect patients in a way that keeps burdens on pharmacy businesses to a minimum by freeing them from unnecessary bureaucracy and allowing them to focus on delivering high quality services," he stressed.

The GPhC is now working to establish similar arrangements in Scotland and Wales, although it did not specify a timeline for the work.

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