The GPhC has said exam candidates who faced “severe delays” in Wednesday’s registration assessment may be offered provisional registration if they fail the exam.

The regulator issued a statement on Twitter last night in the wake of delays faced by candidates at five test centres, with Nottingham University students reporting that they were forced to leave the building at 11pm before their exam timer was up because staff had to close the building.

The GPhC attributed the delays to “technical issues” that meant the computers needed to sit the exam arrived several hours late, and said it was “extremely sorry”.

“We fully appreciate the significant stress and disruption this must have caused for them in such a high-stakes assessment,” said chief executive Duncan Rudkin.

After offering to refund affected candidates and nullify the sitting so it does not count as one of their three attempts, the GPhC said: “We are actively and urgently exploring the options for provisional registration for the candidates affected by severe delays yesterday who do not pass and will give a further update asap.”   

This has prompted criticism from a number of people who said this would be unfair on students from other universities, alleging that students in the Nottingham test centre may have had access to their phones during the delays and could potentially have seen content from the exam.

The provisional register was introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic to allow trainee pharmacists to practise pending their full registration. It was wound down on January 31 this year.  

Pharmacy Network News has approached the regulator for an update regarding its possible use of provisional registration for candidates affected by delays this week.