Black and Asian pharmacists are “over-represented” in concerns received by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and there is an “under-representation” of White pharmacists, the regulator has said.
In papers for its October 15 meeting, the GPhC published data on the protected characteristics of pharmacists involved in concerns received, investigated and closed between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026.
It said there were “higher proportions” of concerns received against pharmacists that were male, older and from non-white backgrounds - but noted there is “no statistically significant relationship between ethnicity or age in concerns that go on to further investigation”.
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Of the 65,776 pharmacists on the 2025/26 GPhC register, the regulator received 2,019 concerns identifying an individual pharmacist, and over 5,000 concerns that did not specifically name a pharmacy professional.
The report focused on the 1,624 distinct pharmacists identified in concerns raised, with the GPhC only including an individual once, even if they had multiple concerns raised against them.
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It found that Asian pharmacists accounted for 40% of the register, but the GPhC received 749 concerns against them, amounting to 46% of all concerns received in 2025/26.
Black pharmacists represented just 8% of the register but had 195 concerns received against them – 12% of the total.
And some 38% of the register were White pharmacists, but only 389 or 24% of the total concerns received were against them.
When it came to concerns referred to investigation by the GPhC’s triage team, the regulator said “no overall statistical relationship was found between” ethnicity and the concerns investigated.
“The proportions of each ethnic group being investigated reflects the proportion of concerns received about each group,” it added.
“No relationship” in concerns closed
In the report, the GPhC noted that fitness-to-practise (FtP) concerns are not always closed in the year they are reported, and said 1,625 concerns were closed in 2025/26.
It specified that a statutory outcome is where “advice and outcomes” such as a warning, conditions imposed, a suspension or removal have been imposed by the investigating and FtP committees.
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All other concerns were either closed before reaching the investigating committee or faced no further action, it said.
The data showed that Asian pharmacists represented 47% of all closed concerns, and accounted for half of all cases closed with statutory outcomes.
All other ethnic groups had the “same or slightly lower” proportions of statutory outcomes, but the GPhC found there was “no relationship between the ethnicity of the pharmacist and the receipt of a more serious statutory outcome”.
With the data including only 116 cases resulting in a statutory outcome, the GPhC said “caution should be made in drawing any conclusions from this as the number of statutory outcomes for any group is small”.
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The GPhC said it publishes this data to “identify and monitor any disproportionate impacts on different groups” and “deal with potentially discriminatory outcomes”.
It said the data does “not tell us anything about the cause” of an over- or under-representation of pharmacists with protected characteristics.
“There are a wide range of factors that could influence the reason for a concern being raised with the GPhC or a concern progressing through our managing concerns process, such as setting, job role, the context of the concern itself, geographical location and other demographics,” it added.
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And it noted that “care should be taken in drawing any conclusions based on this data alone”.
Figures from three of the last four years show similar patterns, with Asian and Black pharmacists over-represented in the number of concerns received and White pharmacists under-represented.
While there were varying over- and under-representations of ethnic groups for concerns closed with statutory outcomes, there was too small a sample across all ethnicities each year compared to 2025/26 to highlight any statistically significant pattern.
“Not surprised”
The Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) said the report covers “a complex area” and agreed that care should be taken before drawing conclusions from the data.
It urged the GPhC to “invest more substantially in examining the underlying factors that may contribute to disproportionality in reported concerns”.
“Whilst the data in the tables may be correct, the limitations of the analysis must be greater prominence especially as the full context is missing, and by not having full context there may be incorrect perceptions being created or perpetuated,” it added.
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The PDA also called for an analysis of the over 5,000 concerns received by the GPhC that do not specify a named pharmacy professional, and for the GPhC to invite “all stakeholders” to co-produce its next equality, diversity and inclusion strategy as the 2021-26 strategy ends.
Independent Pharmacy Contractors Network board member Raza Ali said the GPhC needs to show that pharmacists facing comparable allegations “receive comparable treatment from the moment a concern is raised until the case is closed”.
He called for the GPhC to share data on who is raising concerns - such as employers, the public or other professionals - as well as their ethnicity, and introduce anti-bias training for the regulator’s staff and inspectors.
Read more: GPhC: Non-white pharmacists ‘over-represented’ in FtP concerns
And he said the GPhC should set a target date by which to “eliminate disproportionate referrals”.
“The GPhC now has a choice,” he said. “It can wait for the pattern to be proved against it, or it can show the profession that fairness can be demonstrated, not just asserted.”
Meanwhile, National Pharmacy Association chief executive Henry Gregg said it “is important that the GPhC publishes this information”.
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He added that the regulator “should investigate it further, including understanding the roles of those who have had matters raised against them and what these relate to”.
And UK Black Pharmacists’ Association president Sam Appiah-Anane said the body is “not surprised” by the figures.
“We seek to work with the GPhC to understand and challenge constructively the disproportionate amount of both concerns received and concerns investigated against Black GPhC pharmacists,” he added.
More analysis to come
The GPhC said this year’s report found that the disparities in concerns received across all three characteristics – ethnicity, sex and age – are “consistent with the findings of our previous reports”.
It told C+D that next year, it intends to do a more comprehensive analysis across five years of data and include other characteristics and factors.
This will include the “role, setting and concerns type, and other decisions such as interim orders”, it said.
Read more: BAME pharmacists remain over-represented in FtP concerns, data shows
The regulator will also look at the progression and outcomes of the different stages of the managing concerns process as part of that report.
The GPhC said it received a “much smaller proportion of concerns” for pharmacy technicians than pharmacists, so it did not include them in the 2025/26 data.
It also had “small numbers” on protected characteristics of disability, religion and sexual orientation that “would prevent us from being able to display and compare many findings”.
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The regulator said it will use the findings “to ensure that our regulatory approach remains evidence-based, fair and proportionate”.
It comes after the GPhC revealed it received almost 35% more FtP concerns about pharmacy professionals in 2025/26.
And it follows a new survey finding that less than 30% of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians feel listened to by the GPhC when it comes to developing policies, standards and guidance.
