The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has announced that its temporary register of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians will remain open for a further two years on request of the health secretary.

The Government decided the register would stay open until 2024 just five days before it was due to close. This comes as part of its new ‘plan for patients’ in England, which enables health professionals on the temporary registers to continue to support the health and social care system.

It was announced earlier this year that the temporary register would close on 30 September 2022, having been set up in 2020 as part of emergency powers.

In total, 3,332 former pharmacists and 2,909 former pharmacy technicians from across the UK joined the temporary registration to help support the sector.

The decision means pharmacy professionals on the temporary register can continue to practise, as long as they meet the standards for pharmacy professionals and have the appropriate indemnity insurance in place.

A statement from GPhC said: ‘We are reminding all pharmacy professionals that they must continue to meet the standards for pharmacy professionals and have the appropriate indemnity insurance in place, if they choose to practise while on the temporary register. Employers must check that any pharmacists and pharmacy technicians they employ are appropriately registered to practise.’

The provisionally registered pharmacists register, which enabled people who had completed their training to help while they waited to sit registration assessment, closed in January.