£16 million in funding invested into independent prescriber training

Health Education England will work alongside the NHS and use £16 million worth of funding from the pharmacy integration fund to “enhance registered pharmacy professionals’ skills, through a range of training and development opportunities”. These opportunities encompass financing community pharmacists so that they can upskill as independent prescribers.

Health Education England (HEE) proposes to “enhance registered pharmacy professionals’ skills, through a range of training and development opportunities” by working alongside the NHS. Some of these opportunities involve “training in independent prescribing for pharmacists working in general practice and community pharmacy” and “expanding clinical examination skills training for community pharmacists.”

In August of this year, a legally binding agreement was made between the government and PSNC (the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee) for HEE “to provide a three-year programme of education and training for community pharmacy professionals, including independent prescribing training for existing pharmacists.”

HEE said that the funding was agreed back in 2016, it will underpin “increasing access to educational, prescribing, and clinical supervisors for pharmacy professionals working and training across primary care and community sectors” as well as “developing course accreditation processes, to increase access to clinical training courses for pharmacy technicians in primary care”.

Policy manager at the National Pharmacy Association, Helga Mangion, commented on how the funding will provide “A more level playing field for access to training, regardless of settings.”

In December of last year, the General Pharmaceutical Council accepted a notion that means by 2026, pharmacists will also be considered prescribers when they register.

Deputy chief pharmaceutical officer for the NHS, Richard Cattell, said “This structured postgraduate development demonstrates our commitment to ensuring existing registered pharmacy professionals have access to the same opportunities for further clinical training including independent prescribing qualifications.”