The Department of Health today announced that the consultation process relating to creating a new professional regulator for pharmacy, the General Pharmaceutical Council, will start on Monday 8th December. It will run for three months until March 9th.

The consultation document sets out the proposals to create a new regulator for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises in England, Scotland and Wales from 2010 and outlines the functions role and powers of the GPhC.

The GPhC's main objective will be to modernise and strengthen the regulation of healthcare professionals to ensure that patient and public confidence in regulatory bodies is upheld and to drive improvements in the quality of care. The proposals will also contribute to the development of high quality pharmacy practice, education and training.

In a joint statement, the Chief Pharmaceutical Officers for England, Scotland and Wales said, "This is a significant step towards the establishment of a new regulator for pharmacy and we hope pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and other stakeholders will contribute their views on the proposals."

The consultation document is available on the Dept of Health website here.