The GPhC – General Pharmaceutical Council is consulting on possible changes which to provide a greater number of pharmacists to begin their independent prescriber training.
The 8 week consultation which is open from 28 September until 23 November 2021 seeks to retrieve views regarding the impact of the proposal on patients, the public, pharmacy professionals and employers. The consultation has been opened following the GPhC’s proposal to remove the requirement for the registered pharmacists to have had 2 years of clinical practice as well as relevant experience in specific clinical or therapeutic areas before they are able to enrol for an accredited prescribing course.
The consultation also aims to gain reviews on the current requirement for course participants to identify an area as a basis of their learning in clinical or therapeutic practice.
The proposed changes would enable both current registered pharmacists and newly-qualified pharmacists to start an independent prescriber course once the relevant experience has been gained, rather than having to wait 2 years to do so, this will assist in meeting the demand from both health services and patients.
Assessment of the quality of the applicant’s previous experience will still be required by course providers, to ensure that the necessary skills and experience are held by the pharmacists before commencing the course.
The GPhC is ensuring the continued relations with Pharmacy education providers, the statutory education bodies and employers in order to implement new standards for the initial pharmacist education and training. Independent prescribing within the first five years of training will be included in the new standards and once fully implemented, from Summer 2026, pharmacists joining the register at the point of registration will be independent prescribers. Duncan Rudkin, the Chief Executive of the GPhC has advised the increasingly important role being played by Pharmacist independent prescribers in meeting with patients and health services changing needs. The GPhC want to provide currently registered and newly-qualified pharmacists, joining the register over the next few years, the ability to begin their independent prescriber course as soon as the relevant experience has been acquired. The proposed removal of / changes to current requirements is intended to enable pharmacists with general prescribing experience the opportunity to enrol. The requirement for course participants to identify an area of clinical or therapeutic practice to focus on during the course is currently intended to remain however it would not be a restriction to the specific area of practice upon qualification thus providing Pharmacists more flexibility in future.
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