Pharmacies that fail to meet the General Pharmaceutical Council's (GPhC) upcoming premises standards could face closure, the regulator has warned.

Speaking at the Pharmacy Show yesterday (October 1), GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin said the regulator would have "strong enforcement powers" once the standards came into force next year. And, although it favoured a collaborative approach, he stressed the GPhC could force non-compliant pharmacies to close.

"We will have powers to issue improvement notices, to impose conditions and, ultimately, if patient safety is threatened, to close pharmacies" Duncan Rudkin, GPhC

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The standards, which were agreed at last month's council meeting, set down requirements for staff, environment and services in pharmacy premises. Pharmacy owners and superintendents will need to ensure that staff have "clear definitions" of their roles and accountabilities, and that premises are "properly maintained" and protect patient confidentiality. Mr Rudkin told attendees of the Pharmacy Show that they should not underestimate the scale of the changes.

"Our preference is always to work with pharmacy to focus on securing compliance with our standards, but we need to be clear that when these standards are fully enforceable, we will have powers to issue improvement notices, to impose conditions and, ultimately, if patient safety is threatened, to close pharmacies," he warned.

Mr Rudkin added that the regulations would encourage pharmacy professionals to "embrace and demonstrate professionalism", which would provide the best protection for patients and the public.

The comments came after pharmacy leaders warned at C+D's Business Senate that the sector would need to project a more professional image to the public.

In June, the GPhC revealed that it had received a mixed response to its proposals for regulating pharmacy premises, as respondents to the consultation agreed the principles were "good, clear and sensible", but expressed concerns about the timescale and warned some elements were "too vague". In light of the feedback, the regulator redrafted the standards and aimed to make them clearer.

But the revised standards still attracted some criticism, in particular the proposal to allow the self-selection of P medicines, which was panned by the Pharmacists' Defence Association for being "commercially driven".

Mr Rudkin reiterated yesterday that the GPhC would be publishing full guidance on when self-selection would be permitted, before the standards came into force.

The GPhC expects to have full enforcement powers for the redrafted standards by October next year.