Pharmacy News:
NHS Workforce, Training and Education #2

Dear colleagues,

Welcome to our second update from the new NHS England.

Thank you, as always, for contributing to transforming pharmacy education and training. It was a pleasure working with you this year and we look forward to many more achievements in 2024.

Enjoy the break when it comes, and come back refreshed!

Jane Brown, Roz Cheeseman, Shane Costigan, Paul Duell,
David Gibson, Nick Haddington and Atif Shamim
NHS England Pharmacy Deans

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In this issue:

IETP reform 2025/26: Funding harmonisation for foundation trainee pharmacists
Recruitment changes for the 2025/26 Foundation Training Year
New indicative curricula published
In brief
NHS-funded training for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians
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Get in touch

Please send all replies to england.traineepharmacist@nhs.net

IETP reform 2025/26: Funding harmonisation for foundation trainee pharmacists

Major changes are happening in the 2025/26 foundation training year (previously known as the pre-registration training year) to transform the initial education and training of pharmacists.

A major change is that, for the first time, foundation training sites will be required to meet the same quality standards in the 2025/26 training year.

To support provision of an equitable offer to all trainees, we are harmonising the funding available to all foundation training sites hosting a foundation trainee pharmacist (previously known as a pre-reg pharmacist).

The level of funding for each site employing a foundation trainee pharmacist in the 2025/26 training year will be £26,500 per foundation trainee pharmacist.

It has been a pleasure to share the news at national and regional events, and to be able to answer your questions. Thank you for engaging with us so positively on this major transformation piece. Detailed information is also available online.

Find out more on our dedicated web page

Recruitment changes for the 2025/26 Foundation Training Year

***Registration for the 2025-26 cohort year will open on 11 January 2024 and close on 1st March 2024***

The recruitment process for trainee foundation pharmacists (previously known as pre-reg pharmacists) is also undergoing change.

Summer 2025 will see the first MPharm graduates aligned to the new GPhC learning outcomes, and the majority will enter foundation training to embark on Independent Prescribing as part of their foundation training year. This is an important milestone in the reform of Pharmacist initial education and training - for employers, educators and learners.

We have attended national and regional events and meetings to communicate these key changes and to help people prepare. More communications are in plan for early 2024, but in the meantime, we encourage you to visit the Oriel/NRS site.

Employers can also contact their Workforce, Training and Education regional team - please refer to Employer Information and FAQs for contact details.

Prepare for change: Visit the Oriel/NRS website

New indicative curricula published

To support the continuum of learning across the five years of initial education and training, we are delighted to share two more new indicative curricula on antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial stewardship and clinical reasoning. These are in addition to our prescribing training, public health & health inequalities and genomics curricula. Thank you to colleagues at the Pharmacy Schools Council for partnering with us on this project.

Education colleagues, please submit suggested additions and amendments which we will review on a 6-monthly basis.

View the live documents and submit your amendments

In brief

Pharmacy First: Launched in November 2023, this sets out the increasingly important clinical role of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in offering timely access to NHS services. Find out more on the Community Pharmacy England website including a letter form the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England, David Webb, shared with community pharmacy professionals and a recording from the Pharmacy First: Getting to know the service webinar.
DHSC Pharmacy Supervision Consultation: The NHS England Chief Pharmaceutical Officer team encourage pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to read and respond to the consultation proposals. The consultation closes on 29 February 2024.
Genomics: The NHS England Pharmacy Workforce Group for Genomics are seeking to recruit five new members, either pharmacists or pharmacy technicians. The closing date for expressions of interest is Monday 15th January 2024.
Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey: Closed on 17 December 2023. The data and survey findings will be available in 2024.
Foundation year training programme provision for 2025/26: Thank you to all the stakeholders who engaged with the team regarding the development of a consistent, fully funded training provision for 2025/26 Foundation Training Programme, across all settings and regions. More information regarding the provision to follow in the new year.

National training offers

Please share news of NHS-funded training with your networks

Community pharmacy training

Get ahead for Pharmacy First with NHS funded training.

Whether you are a new pharmacist or pharmacy technician, returning to learning or looking for professional development to deliver more services, explore a range of training options for you.

Courses available to learn new skills, grow your confidence or expand your clinical knowledge.

Clinical examination training skills for pharmacists:
Look out for new online Otoscope training Thurs 18 Jan, 6pm-7:30pm
Advancing your role for pharmacy technicians: build your knowledge and skills delivering effective clinical services
Educational supervisor training for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians
Independent prescribing

Learn more and apply

Independent prescribing

Applications for NHS-funded IP training remain open for eligible pharmacists across all sectors of pharmacy, including locums. Courses are available with start dates to March 2024, with several universities offering multiple dates for cohort intakes.

Don't miss the deadlines: Apply now for February and March cohorts.

A pharmacist and pharmacy technician team

Pharmacy Leaders Development Programme

This programme is for experienced pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who aspire to lead large and complex NHS departments, services, teams or systems of care.

Note: The closing date for applications to join Cohort 5 will be midday on Monday 22 January.

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