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The General Pharmaceutical Council has today confirmed pharmacists who are absent from the pharmacy will be able to authorise pharmacy technicians to hand out checked and bagged prescriptions from January 7 next year as part of new legislation on supervision.

In a statement on its website, the regulator also said that from December 10, 2026, pharmacists will have the power to authorise pharmacy technicians to undertake or supervise the preparation, assembly, dispensing and sale and supply of medicines.

From that date, pharmacy technicians in hospital aseptic facilities will also be able to take “primary responsibility for the preparation and assembly of medicinal products”.

The regulator is developing the draft standards for superintendent and responsible pharmacists which will support implementation of the new legislation and will soon launch a public consultation on those.

“The new standards and rules will clarify and strengthen the organisational governance arrangements for registered pharmacies, specifically in respect of superintendent pharmacists and responsible pharmacists,” the GPhC said.

“The standards will take account of the interplay between the two roles, including their responsibilities and accountabilities from both an organisational and a professional standpoint."