Well there is nothing like waking on a Saturday morning to find an email from the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) had landed in your inbox.
Reaction to GPhC email
For those of you who aren’t immersed in the world of pharmacy - the GPhC is the regulator of Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians (please note @MrsQuaye your persistence is paying off). If you want to know more about our regulator, then here’s a link to their website explaining some of their ‘work’.
Needless to say, the GPhC investigate concerns about their ‘registrants’ and they also uphold standards.
I’m going to defend myself here, and not blame any guilty thoughts on my part for the slight panic at the email, but the realisation that we live in a very litigious and blame apportioning society, and being at the very front of interaction with patients can bring risks.
Did I sound off hand to a patient? Did they not like my refusal to sell three packets of codeine products? Did they not like my questioning of the dosage on their prescription which delayed them 10 minutes whilst I consulted with the doctor?
There’s a world of possibilities for the maligners of practicing pharmacists.
So the email just announces …
You have been sent a message by the General Pharmaceutical Council
Big Brother
So you have to log on to their portal to read the message, which of course (for reasons to be explained shortly) is running extremely slowly, and won’t even render correctly on my mobile, so I have to fire up the laptop.
GPhC website due to demand
Eventually I manage to get a readable webpage, and realise that the message is about my “submission window” for revalidation. Phew!
This also explains why there is a sudden demand on the website, numerous other pharmacy professionals are logging on too, to read the message sent to the October Revalidation Crew. In fact, fellow pharmacists on Twitter recount the same apprehension of the message.
https://twitter.com/GrahamStretch/status/1697902367524491465?t=FcMw3pn6dXesnej4FDilXQ&s=19
So in the words of those great critical thinkers - The Pet Shop Boys
My heart starts missing a beat
My heart starts missing a beat
Every time
Oh oh oh, every timeHeart - Pet Shop Boys
For the uninitiated, Revalidation is part of the assurance process that the GPhC control to maintain standards and protect the public. So it is an important aspect of the profession, and is detailed here.
So as one panic subsides, another rises around the thought if have I made my entries for this year and who will be my “peer” for this year.
Well that’s my weekend taken up to ensure everything is in order.
