Pharmacists, Fit To Practice

Imagine this situation; After your Christmas party, you reluctantly drive to work the following morning. You’re not feeling great, but you assume that enough time has passed so that you’re legally allowed to drive. Only, when pulled over by the police, their breathalyser has other ideas and you get prosecuted for drink-driving. This has happened to hundreds of decent citizens across the UK, whose momentarily lack of judgement has had a detrimental effect on their lives and careers.

Being prosecuted for drink-driving could have a major impact on your pharmacy career and could lead to an investigation into your ‘fitness to practise.’

What is 'fitness to practice?'

A ‘fitness to practice’ check examines a pharmacist’s ability to safely fulfil their duties. The vast majority of pharmacists across the UK are fit to practise and do not pose any risk to patient safety. However, on occasion, pharmacist do come under investigation as to whether or not they pose a risk to patient safety, or themselves.

Oliver Mundy is the managing director for Fit to Practice Support. He saw a necessity for pharmacists, and other self-employed professionals, who needed to consider their own futures and support if their career was ever brought under the microscope.

So, what is FTP Support?

FTP Support offers a range of support to individuals and organisations to mitigate, manage and support fitness to practise issues. We spoke to Oliver about how his organisation operates;

“FTP Support membership entitles you to free advice and support in the event of your being investigated by your regulatory body.

FTP Support provides fitness to practise solutions to locum pharmacy professionals and organisations in the pharmacy sector. This includes providing locum pharmacy professionals with support and representation in relation to their fitness to practise.

We use expert consultants; investigators and decision-makers with extensive experience of working for regulatory bodies within the healthcare industry. These consultants provide our members with empathetic support should they find their fitness to practise under investigation by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).”

Is it just for locum pharmacists?

In a word, no.

FTP Support has delivered services to numerous pharmacy owners across the UK.

“FTP Support has trained Celesio and Well Pharmacy staff on fitness to practise principles. This training also included role plays with delegates appearing before a mock Fitness to Practise Committee to improve their understanding of the role of a witness within the process.

FTP Support also offers a pre-emptive inspection service for pharmacy owners due to experience the GPhC’s new inspection model. This service mirrors the GPhC’s inspection of compliance to the required standards and provide a report which details how you are performing against the required standards. This allows you to take action to remedy any issues prior to the formal inspection, and improves your knowledge of compliance and fitness to practise.”

How do I find out more?

If you’re a locum pharmacist or a pharmacy owner, get in touch with Fit To Practise Support and find out how they could protect you and your staff throughout your career.

If you’re a locum pharmacist and need to access your next locum shift, you can do so on our locum platform!

If you have a story or a service that you feel may benefit the lives of your fellow professionals, or if you think it may be entertaining, send your suggestions to info@locatealocum.com

Thanks for reading, have a great day!
Locate a Locum Team