Supporting the Integration of Pharmacy in Wider Primary Care through education and training: a free webinar

18 May 2018

Pharmacy professionals can find out how new fully funded training provided through the Pharmacy Integration Fund (PhIF) can help them develop their roles. Join a free evening webinar for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians on 22 May 2018 from 1930 to 2045hrs.

As well as an overview of new opportunities for pharmacy to support wider primary care, there will be plenty of time for discussion about new training opportunities, provided through the PhIF.

HEE's Professor Chris Cutts will chair the event and will be joined by representatives from NHS England, pharmacy professional bodies, pharmacy and pharmacy technician trainers and educators, and those enrolled on the programmes.

The webinar is open to all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

Register here 

If you have a question you would like to see answered, please email stevie.pattisondick@hee.nhs.uk 

Background about the Pharmacy Integration Fund

The NHS is working to ensure that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians play an increasingly visible and expanded role in improving outcomes and value from medicines for patients.

To support this, NHS England is enabling the development of pharmacy practice through the Pharmacy Integration Fund https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/primary-care/pharmacy/    

The fund is being used to develop schemes which integrate pharmacists and pharmacy technicians into wider primary care as part of new multi-disciplinary healthcare teams, diversify the workforce and make the most of their clinical skills.

The NHS Five Year Forward View set out a clear direction for the future NHS and placed great emphasis on service integration, including ‘new models of care’ which integrate primary and secondary care, and health and social care.

Health Education England (HEE) is working in partnership with NHS England to drive forward the workforce transformation which will be needed to achieve these goals. This work is part of a broader HEE agenda to enable workforce transformation across the NHS to support locally delivered integrated care models.

Working with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and other partners, HEE has developed new, fully-funded, innovative programmes. These are available for individual pharmacists or pharmacy technicians through flexible and accessible learning solutions, allowing those enrolling to study at work, or in their own time.

The training programmes are:

  • Independent Prescribing for Pharmacists in GP practices, care homes and integrated urgent care/NHS111 hubs aligned to specific programmes
  • NHS111/Integrated Urgent CareWorkforce Development Programme  for  Pharmacists (employed in IUC)
  • Medicines Optimisation in Care Homes Training for Pharmacy Professionals (for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians employed in care homes)
  • Clinical and Professional Leadership Development for Pharmacy Professionals (for both community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians)
  • Post-registration Training for Community Pharmacists
  • Community Pharmacy Technician Training and Development Programme pilot
  • Accuracy Checking Pharmacy Technician Programme.

You can find out more here