The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) received almost 10,000 concerns about pharmacy professionals this year, according to its latest annual report.
Published yesterday, the report revealed that 9,928 concerns were reported to the GPhC between March 31, 2025 and March 31, 2026 – an increase of almost 35% compared to last year.
It added that the regulator saw a “significant rise in both the number and complexity” of the concerns raised in 2025/26, and that half of the concerns came from members of the public.
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The report also said that over 90% of the concerns received by the GPhC were closed at the earliest stage, while 330 were closed after the initial investigation.
Of the cases that were investigated, 172 were closed without further action, while 108 were closed with guidance being offered to the registrant concerned.
The GPhC also reported a reduction of almost 19 weeks in the median time taken for a concern to be resolved at this stage, compared to last year.
Cases brought to committees
It said a total of 107 cases were resolved at the investigating committee stage this year, down from 116 the previous year.
And 82 concerns were resolved at the final fitness-to-practise committee stage, a 17% increase on 2024/25.
Of the cases resolved by the fitness-to-practise committee, 22 resulted in the registrant’s removal from the register, while 44% of cases resulted in a suspension, up from 32% last year.
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The GPhC admitted that the median time for closures at the fitness-to-practise committee stage “remains very high at just under three years”, but said it expects to see this reduce by late 2026/27.
It also reported scheduling “over 50% more sitting days” in 2025/26, which allowed the fitness-to-practise committee to hear 110 cases and resolve 81.
The regulator said it is “further increasing” its capacity for hearings capacity “by another 50% during 2026/27, to conclude the majority of our aged caseload and clear our legacy backlog”.
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It comes as the GPhC’s annual whistleblowing disclosures report revealed the regulator acted on almost 75% of whistleblower disclosures this year.
And it follows the regulator taking its first enforcement action over the advertisement of prescription-only medicines earlier this month.
