Coronavirus (COVID-19) - appeal to rejoin the GPhC register: Chief Pharmaceutical Officer letter
Letter from the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, Dr Rose Marie Parr appealing to pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to rejoin the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) register to assist with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the letter published on 19 March 2020 from the Chief Nursing Officer appealing to all health and care professionals to return to their professional registers, I wanted to write to you directly.
Firstly, I will take the opportunity once again to thank you, my pharmacy colleagues across Scotland for your ongoing efforts and support during this unprecedented and challenging time.
The Pharmacy profession is crucial during this COVID-19 pandemic, you are working harder than ever to ensure that those who need their medicines get them when they need them. Not forgetting that you are working under significant pressure, whilst continuing to deliver services across Scotland. We know that a significant number of you and your pharmacy colleagues are likely to be affected by the coronavirus, and will be unable to work either through personal illness or caring responsibilities. The impact of this is likely to be prolonged and so we will need additional support over the coming weeks and months to ensure that we keep our workforce healthy and are able to provide the services to those who need us. That is why I am appealing to you to return to practice, and re-join the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) Register, whether as a full time or part time professional now or at any point in the coming months. If you have left the GPhC Register within the last three years as a Pharmacist or Pharmacy Technician, the GPhC has put in place processes to provide for temporary emergency registration, which will ensure you are able to work in your professional capacity within a very short period of time. And Regulatory bodies will be waiving any fees to return to the register.
The GPhC are writing to all registrants who have left the register in the last three years, so you may already have been contacted, however they can only do so to your last registered contact postal or email addresses. If you haven’t already heard from the GPhC, and are keen to re-join the register, I would encourage you to get in contact via our National Recruitment Portal. Once an interest is noted via the portal, pre-employment checks will be carried out which will ensure staff are able to work in community pharmacy or hospital pharmacy quicker.
I realise you may have questions, and would direct you to the Scottish Government additional guidance (including answers to frequently asked questions) which will be continuously updated.
Finally, thank you once again for the efforts you are already making. I am very proud of the pharmacy profession’s response to this pandemic and the challenges we all face.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Rose Marie Parr
Chief Pharmaceutical Officer
Scottish Government
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