The PDA has sought a judicial review of a line in the General Pharmaceutical Council’s (GPhC) standards – due to come into effect “later this year” – which state that they “need to be met [by pharmacists] at all times, not only during working hours”.

PDA chairman Mark Koziol told C+D: “The new standards impose requirements about body language, tone of voice and politeness at all times, not only during working hours.”

“They are a step too far and will be of concern to many pharmacists.”

“The standards are such that they widen the scope of employers and the GPhC to use them as the basis to discipline pharmacists in the future,” Mr Koziol added. “There is no question that they need to be challenged.”

He also pointed out that the PDA “made its views known” to the regulator in a consultation last year, “as did numerous pharmacists – but these were ignored”.

“This left the PDA with no other option than to challenge the GPhC in the courts.”

When will the hearing take place?

The hearing will be held in the High Court, at the Birmingham Civil and Family Justice Centre, next week (March 23) – the same week that the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and the National Pharmacy Association will be challenging the pharmacy funding cuts in the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

For more on the PDA’s hearing, including reactions from the GPhC and C+D readers, click here.