Duncan rudkin biography

The government has published draft pharmacy supervision legislation, following comments made exclusively to The Pharmaceutical Journal by pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock.

The draft legislation, published on 17 July 2025, is accompanied by the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) consultation response, with proposals to amend the Medicines Act 1968 and the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.

Crucial proposals include:

• Allowing pharmacists to authorise pharmacy technicians to carry out — or supervise others carrying out — the preparation, assembly, dispensing, sale and supply of medicines;
• Permitting any member of the pharmacy team to hand out checked and bagged prescriptions in the absence of a pharmacist;
• Enabling pharmacy technicians to supervise the preparation, assembly and dispensing of medicines in hospital aseptic facilities.

This comes after the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced on 17 July 2025 that the legislation is “expected to come into effect by the end of 2025, and the bulk of the measures will have a one-year transition period to allow for the development of professional standards and guidance”. 

The consultation received 5,054 responses — 96% of respondents were individuals and 4% of respondents were organisations, including the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

While most organisations mainly agreed with the proposals, many individual pharmacists disagreed with some of all of the proposals, “mainly due to concerns about how the changes would be implemented in practice or with matters not related to the proposed legislation”.

The DHSC said there was “a clear split between pharmacists, many of whom opposed the changes, and pharmacy technicians who overwhelmingly supported them”.

In response to the proposal to enable pharmacists to authorise a registered pharmacy technician, 79% of organisations agreed, while 37% of individuals agreed.

On the other hand, responses to the proposal by profession revealed that 76% of pharmacists disagreed with the proposal, while 88% of pharmacy technicians agreed.

“Where concerns were raised, these generally related to the level of initial education and training required for pharmacy technicians and whether it was sufficient to take on these additional roles and responsibilities, and whether by extension this led to potential risks to patient safety,” the DHSC said.

It added that further concerns were raised about:

• Who (pharmacist or pharmacy technician) is accountable if things go wrong;
• Fears that employers would exploit the changes;
• Whether the proposals may lead to removal of pharmacists from pharmacies by allowing pharmacists to remotely supervise a pharmacy to the detriment of patients’ access to opportunistic clinical advice.

The DHSC stated that the proposals “do not enable remote supervision or change the legal requirement that a responsible pharmacist must be signed in at a registered premises when these activities are taking place and when open to the public”.

It added that the government is responsible for setting the framework, but how this is applied is up to regulators.

Gordon Hockey, director of legal at Community Pharmacy England (CPE), said that CPE welcomes the draft legislation.

“We agree these changes should improve the extent of care patients receive in community pharmacies, help to reduce delays in accessing medicines and improve access to pharmacy services.

The requirement for a responsible pharmacist to be signed in when the pharmacy premises is open for business will also remain.”

All organisations providing gender identity services should make sure that there are clear routes for pharmacy professionals to refer children and young people for the support and care they need, the pharmacy regulator has said.

In a statement made by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) on 21 March 2024, Duncan Rudkin, chief executive of the GPhC, warned that without clear referral routes and reduced waiting times for gender identity services, “people may try to seek alternative options, such as sourcing unregulated products online or through private clinics outside of the UK, which exposes them to additional risks”.

The GPhC statement follows the publication of a new NHS England clinical policy on the use of puberty suppressing hormones, also known as puberty blockers.

The policy, published on 12 March 2024, says that puberty suppressing hormones should not be available as a routine option for the treatment of children and young people who have gender incongruence or gender dysphoria.

It follows a consultation on an interim version of the same clinical policy, which ran from August to November 2023.

In the GPhC statement, Rudkin said: “We recognise the challenges that pharmacy professionals may face in relation to prescriptions for puberty suppressing hormones. 

“We understand that many children and young people experiencing gender incongruence or dysphoria are waiting for lengthy periods to be assessed or to receive treatment, and that this can have a significant negative impact on their mental health.

As he prepares to step down, we wish him every success in the future and look forward to working constructively with his successor to continue advancing the role of pharmacy in improving patient care.”

Rudkin said it had “been a great privilege to lead the staff of the GPhC since its formation in 2010” and added: “I am proud of the work the team have done to uphold standards of care and quality in pharmacy services, and to put patient safety at the heart of everything we do.

“With a strong new strategic plan in place, now is the right time for me to step down and support a successful transition to a new chief executive and registrar.”

 

 

Duncan Rudkin, chief executive of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), will step down from his role on 31 December 2025, the regulator has announced.

On 30 July 2025, the GPhC said that it is “committed to ensuring a smooth transition” after a new chief executive and registrar is recruited.

Rudkin, who has been in post since the GPhC was established in 2010, said the role has been “a great privilege”.

“I am proud of the work the team have done to uphold standards of care and quality in pharmacy services, and to put patient safety at the heart of everything we do,” he said.

“With a strong new strategic plan in place, now is the right time for me to step down and support a successful transition to a new chief executive and registrar.”

Gisela Abbam, chair of the GPhC, thanked Rudkin for his “significant” and “invaluable” contribution to pharmacy regulation, including his focus on patient safety.

“As Duncan embarks on new ventures, we are presented with a unique opportunity to welcome a new chief executive and registrar who will champion the next phase of our journey.

This is an important step towards bringing care closer to communities, as set out in the ten-year health plan,” he added.

Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, said: “Whilst there is still detail to be understood, this long overdue modernisation of the regulations has the potential to free pharmacists to spend much more time with patients, where their clinical skills and expertise can have most value.

“The physical presence of a pharmacist within a pharmacy is a critical safeguard for patients, helping to verify and assess medicine use.

As we modernise pharmacy operations, we need to retain pharmacists’ crucial role to guarantee and strengthen patient safety.”

Duncan Rudkin, chief executive of the GPhC, said: “These reforms will maximise the use of the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, and make sure all members of the pharmacy team are empowered to contribute fully to patient care.

“We want to reassure everyone that we think it is vitally important that patients and the public can have access to a pharmacist when visiting a community pharmacy and will make this clear in the standards and rules.

I’d like to thank him for his contribution over the past 15 years.