NHS Workforce, Training and Education (WT&E)
The Workforce, Training and Education (WT&E) directorate of NHS England (NHSE) ensures the NHS in England has a sufficient and inclusive workforce with the knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver compassionate high-quality health and care to the people it serves.
You can find a range of workforce offers and support on their main website.
NHS Long Term Workforce Plan
The long awaited NHS Long Term Workforce Plan maps out a strategy to recruit and retain many thousands more staff spanning 15 years.
The plan has specific measures to support and develop the pharmacy workforce, and has given specific consideration to community pharmacy in recognition of what it describes as the sector’s ‘unique circumstances’.
Read more HERE.
Recent pharmacy specific offers are listed below:
Will you be developing training plans for the 2025/26 Foundation Pharmacist Training year?
If the answer is yes, NHS WT&E team would like to invite you to complete a registration form and to join them for the second Independent Prescribing Task and Finish group meeting scheduled for the 7th January 2025.
This session is for colleagues that will be developing training plans. This includes Designated Supervisors, Training Managers, Designated Prescribing Practitioners, Training Leads, Potential Designated Prescribing Practitioners and Potential Designated Supervisors.
They will be offering three sessions that will take place on the 7 January 2025:
- 11:00 -12:00 – Managed sector including acute and mental health hospitals
- 14:00-15:00 – General Practice, Primary Care, Health & Justice
- 19:30 – 20:30 – Community Pharmacy
Please complete the form to register for the relevant session. Consider your role within a single or multisector programme placement to enable you review which session(s) is most appropriate for you. Following successful registration you will receive the MS Teams link.
The deadline for registration is the 5th of January 2025.
This is a follow-up to the first task and finish group meetings that were held in Oct/Nov for the sectors indicated and NHS WT&E will revert to the regular regional Independent Prescribing working group meetings following this 2nd task and finish group meeting.
If you have any queries please contact: england.wtepharmacy.eoe@nhs.net
Many thanks.
East of England Pharmacy Team
NHS England Workforce Training and Education Directorate
2-4 Victoria House | Capital Park | Fulbourn | Cambridge | CB21 5XB
Website: www.england.nhs.uk
The East of England WT&E Pharmacy team would like to invite you to our Regional Readiness for the Foundation Trainee Pharmacist Programme 2025/26 virtual meeting.
In July 2025, the first cohort of Foundation Trainee Pharmacists that graduated against the January 2021 GPhC revised standards for initial education and training of pharmacists will begin their 5th and final training year. Join us for a Regional Readiness virtual meeting.
Changes are already underway to prepare for the 2025/26 Foundation Trainee Pharmacist Programme. This meeting will provide an overview of the changes and the developments to date. We hope this provides an opportunity to further inform you about these changes to support your preparation and readiness review as we approach the start of the 2025/26 training year.
Join NHS WT&E team live for a chance to have your questions answered by the team. You can send in your question prior to the meeting using this link.
2 sessions are taking place on Tuesday 3rd December, and the MS Team links are below.
If you have any queries please contact: england.wtepharmacy.eoe@nhs.net
NHS WT&E have announce the launch of the Community Pharmacy Technician Apprenticeship Programme. This programme will support Pre-registration Trainee Pharmacy Technicians (PTPTs) to be employed and complete their full 24-month apprenticeship training within a community pharmacy setting. Upon completion of training and registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) this will support community pharmacy to utilise the expertise and knowledge of registered pharmacy technicians as part of pharmacy services and wider reform.
Full details on the NHS funded Community Pharmacy Technician Apprenticeship Programme are now available on their website.
Support resources include:
- Community Pharmacy Technician Apprenticeship Programme: guidance for contractors
- Webinar – PowerPoint presentation
- GPhC IET Standards for Pharmacy technicians
- NHS England Quality Framework
- Resources to support supervision of PTPTs
Funding Offer
NHSE are offering a training contribution of £15,053 per trainee, per year for two years (24 months) to support community pharmacies in developing a PTPT programme that meets the GPhC IET standards for pharmacy technicians and the NHS England Education Quality Framework.
Next Steps
Application for funding is through expression of interest (EoI) submitted via an online application form. The application window will open on Monday 23 September 2024 until Sunday 13 October 2024.
This guidance will support contractors in completing their Expression of Interest.
There is one remaining information webinar on Tuesday 08 October at 7:00pm.
You may also wish to attend the UEA Community Pharmacy PTPT Support Sessions which are on Friday 4th October and Wednesday 9th October both between 12:30pm and 1:30pm.
A PTPT does not need to have any previous pharmacy experience, so if you are successful in your PTPT application and want to recruit a new member of staff, just a reminder that the Primary Care Careers team can provide you with free support.
If you have any questions, please email england.wtepharmacy.eoe@nhs.net with Community Pharmacy Technician Apprenticeship Programme in the subject field.
Independent Prescribing courses for pharmacists in 2024/25: Applications now open.
The ability to independently prescribe is crucial for pharmacists delivering care across the NHS. This training enables pharmacists to support patients from diagnosis to prescribing, and to provide advice and follow-up – while also helping them to feel confident and prepared for the new challenges of their role.
Fully using the clinical skills and capabilities of community pharmacists, supported by significant investment in training, is part of a concerted effort across the health system to improve access to care in local communities and address health inequalities.
NHS England are pleased to announce that applications for independent prescribing courses for Pharmacists are now open. Courses are available until end March 2025, with several universities offering multiple dates for cohort intakes. Start dates will depend on the university provider.
NHSE encourage pharmacists from across sectors, including community pharmacy and locums, to seize this opportunity.
Pharmacists who meet the eligibility criteria will be able to apply for one of the places on independent prescribing courses at a variety of universities across England:
- Community pharmacists (including locum pharmacists); Pharmacists employed in General Practice (who are not eligible for, or enrolled on, the Primary Care Pharmacy Education Programme (PCPEP) and those who are working to provide primary care services (e.g. working in primary care) who are not employed in ARRS roles); and Health and Justice pharmacists.
- Pharmacists enrolled on CPPE’s Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway (PCPEP) and who meet the PCPEP criteria to enrol on an independent prescribing course
- Pharmacists enrolled on CPPE’s Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway (PCPEP) and who meet the PCPEP criteria to enrol on an independent prescribing course
- Pharmacists working in an NHS Hospital Trust or Mental Health Trust (NHS managed sector); pharmacists working in an integrated care board (ICB), previously CCG pharmacists
Eligible pharmacists can apply to universities listed on the NHS England website.
They will need to demonstrate (as a minimum):
- The support of an identified designated prescribing practitioner (DPP).
- An appropriate practice-based learning environment in a prescribing setting that can offer appropriate clinical support.
- Evidence that you meet the course provider eligibility criteria (applicants will be subject to their chosen university’s enrolment processes).
- Commitment to use the skill within your area of competence and expertise, for the delivery of NHS clinical services as they emerge.
If you would like to know more about the General Pharmaceutical Council’s eligibility criteria for undertaking an independent prescribing course, please visit the GPhC website.
Eligible pharmacists may apply only to those universities as listed on the NHS England website. Please note: the available universities differ depending on the sector you work in.
As part of the application process, all learners will need to assure their chosen university that they meet the course requirements.
Course length and the number of face-to-face days required vary between universities. Please check the individual university webpages for further information on course format.
Funding
Independent Prescribing training is available to pharmacists who meet the eligibility criteria. Tuition fees are fully funded by NHS England. Pharmacists that are successful in applying to one of the approved universities will be allocated a fully funded place directly by the university. They do not need to apply to NHS England for funding separately.
Further information.
Please visit the NHS England website to find out more about this crucial offer, including eligibility criteria, list of approved universities and frequently asked questions.
For any further enquiries, please contact england.pharmacyteam@nhs.net
NHS England are pleased to announce new, fully funded educational supervision training for those supervising pharmacy workforce.
This training will ensure those involved in educational supervision, including Designated Supervisors (DSs), and Designated Prescribing Practitioners (DPPs), are confident to provide support and developmental aid to the pharmacy workforce across all sectors.
This new training offer provides 250 places exclusively for prospective DPPs and 250 places for other educational supervisors, including DSs, previously pre-reg tutors.
Who is eligible: Pharmacists wishing to supervise colleagues in all pharmacy sectors can apply for the educational supervision training. Regulatory changes in 2019 mean that experienced independent prescribers of any profession can apply for DPP training to support pharmacists to become independent prescribers.
About the training: The training will be delivered flexibly to accommodate work schedules and will allow learners to develop their skills and knowledge around delivering educational supervision whilst keeping patient safety and person-centred care at the forefront. Online modules are split into bite-size lessons that last 20-30 minutes.
Modules in the Educational supervision programme cover the following topics:
- Introduction to educational supervision
- Facilitating Learning
- Giving effective feedback
- Assessing & Monitoring
- Supporting trainees
Modules in the DPP programme cover the following topics:
- Introduction to DPP supervision in pharmacy
- Facilitating Learning
- Giving effective feedback
- Assessing & Monitoring
- Developing as a DPP
Assessments will include a choice of reflective account, multisource feedback, and peer observation of supervision skills.
Further information
To register for the Educational supervisor training for the pharmacy workforce, visit the ProPharmace Website.
For any further enquiries about this exciting training offer, please contact info@propharmace.com
NHS England has funded the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) to offer further places on their Accuracy checking pharmacy technician (ACPT) programme for pharmacy technicians.
Applications are now open with up to 10 funded places available per month and 80 funded places available in total; funding will end when all 80 places have been allocated, or by the end of March 2025.
