The GPhC investigates complaints that indicate that a pharmacy professional's fitness to practise may be impaired.

We do not investigate all the complaints that we receive.

In order to decide whether we need to investigate a complaint against you, we will review the complaint to determine if the information provided suggests that your fitness to practise may be impaired.

If the complaint is considered to raise valid concerns around your fitness to practise, a case will be opened and the complaint will be investigated by an inspector or a case manager.

Investigation

Our investigation will seek to gather the information needed to form an allegation. Most allegations of impaired fitness to practise, and all allegations of fraudulent or incorrect entry, are referred to the Investigating Comittee.

Panels of the Investigating Committee work only from the paperwork we have collected about the case - they do not meet any of the people concerned or hear their evidence in person. The panel’s job is to decide whether there is a case to answer.

If a panel decides there is no case to answer, it will close the case.

In fraudulent or incorrect entry cases, if the panel decides there is a case to answer, it will refer the case for a hearing before the Fitness to Practise Committee or the Health Committee.

Hearings

The Fitness to Practise Committee or Health Committee will hear the case and decide on action to take. You will have to attend in order to give evidence before the committee. The hearing committee will determine whether or not to uphold the complaint against you, and, if so, what sanctions are appropriate.

Sanctions

There are a variety of sanctions which the committee can decide to impose in the case of an upheld decision. The sanctions range from a letter of advice, to, in serious cases, removal from the register.