The GPhC consulted in September and October 2016 on a new approach to calling in continuing professional development records for review. Instead of calling records every five years as at present, it proposed to select a minimum of 2.5% of registrants’ records at random for review each year. These would not be called on two consecutive years, though some registrants may have their records called more frequently where they have been ‘required previously to undertake remedial measures’ following a review of their CPD records in the past or where they have a ‘history of poor compliance with any of [the GPhC] standards’.
The PDA said that research was required to assess whether CPD recording was of material benefit to the public – and not just to the GPhC – and criticized the GPhC’s approach to the consultation. There was a lack of robust evidence presented to support its claims and some of the relevant information was found only in the Council’s papers from September 2016, not in the consultation document itself. This caused the PDA to question what other regulatory changes the GPhC might be planning to implement without consultation, or by stealth as a result of vague wording in its documents.