Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 14
14
Accepted
Paragraph: 91
Pharmacist capacity in community settings limits the expansion of clinical services.
Conclusion
It is clear that pharmacists are already struggling to find the time they need for consultations with patients in often busy community pharmacy environments with competing priorities, despite their ambition to do more. Future service expansion must be conscious of the capacity of pharmacists to deliver both existing services, and any planned expansions.
Government Response Summary
The government will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan this summer. It is also reforming pharmacist education and training, providing national funding to expand Designated Prescribing Practitioner capacity, funding training for Pharmacy Technician supervisors, and exploring MPharm student placement funding.
Paragraph Reference:
91
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
This summer we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again. Initial Education and Training (IET) for pharmacists has undergone a significant period of reform since the announcement in 2021 of revised Standards of education and training by the pharmacy regulator, the General Pharmaceutical Council. Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) and supervisor capacity For the pharmacist training pipeline, placements and supervision is required at a variety of stages: 1. Undergraduate MPharm degree 2. Foundation Training Year, including supervision from Designated Supervisors and Designated Prescribing Practitioners (from 2025) 3. Post-registration Independent Prescribing Courses (for pharmacist that register before 2026) In order to ensure adequate DPP and supervisor capacity, NHS England is providing national funding to expand the number of training places for independent prescribers and DPPs. This will ensure the NHS is ready to support and mentor the trainee pharmacists from 25/26 alongside currently registered pharmacists learning to be independent prescribers (IP). The Pharmacy Integration fund in 2024-25 is extending the Teach and Treat clinics pilot that successfully run the South West to all regions in England. The South West pilot demonstrated it is an effective way to create DPP capacity and grow the number of pharmacist independent prescribers. Initial Education and Training of Pharmacy Technicians Funded educational training is available for supervisors of Pharmacy Technician learners as outlined above. This is available to teams working in the NHS managed sector, Primary care (general practice) and in community pharmacies. This will support the continued growth of pre-registration trainee pharmacy technician supervisor capacity in these sectors. Financial support for training Since 2021, the Mpharm has been eligible to receive the clinical tariff, which has supported MPharm providers in increasing the volume and quality of experiential learning within the degree. However, MPharm students are outside of the scope of the Learning Support Fund (LSF) as it only applies to those courses which were eligible for the NHS Bursary prior to the 2017 reforms. DHSC is working with NHS England to explore how to introduce a single, consistent policy for funding excess travel and accommodation costs incurred by MPharm students on placements.