This newsletter was originally created by NHS England – NHS Workforce, Training and Education

Pharmacy News

NHS Workforce, Training & Education #8

Thursday 29th May 2025 

In this issue:

• A message from the Deans
• Growing the pharmacy technician workforce in community pharmacy
• News from the e-Portfolio team
• New Trainee Support Guide now available
• First cohort of pharmacy technicians complete funded critical care training
• Pharmacist independent prescribing

A message from the Deans

Dear colleagues,

Welcome to our eighth update.

It was great to see so many of you at Clinical Pharmacy Congress 2025 on the 9th – 10th May in London.  We were really pleased to deliver a range of talks at the congress, including sessions on post-registration credentialling, empowering pharmacy technicians through PGDs and updates on the implementation of the initial education and training of pharmacists. Thanks as always for your support and positive feedback on these sessions, and all the great Q&A and discussions that came out of them!

We were also delighted to receive formal confirmation from the GPhC of our accreditation for the management of the Foundation Trainee Pharmacist Programme in England. This means that for all trainee pharmacists starting in England from July 2025, we have responsibility for the management of their foundation training and the quality of their training site and experience. We are writing to all trainees and training sites to provide key information to guide them through onboarding and the Foundation Trainee Pharmacist Programme.   

Please check the newsletter for news about pharmacy technician training and spread the word as applications are open for NHS England funded independent prescriber training.

With best wishes,

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

Growing the pharmacy technician workforce in community pharmacy

The Community Pharmacy Technician Apprenticeship Programme 2025 was launched on Monday 19th May 2025. This initiative supports and funds community pharmacy contractors to hire pre-registration trainee pharmacy technicians (PTPTs) for a 24-month apprenticeship based in a community pharmacy setting.

The programme aims to increase the number of qualified pharmacy technicians and maximise the use of their skills to enhance and support service delivery within community pharmacies.

To learn more, sign up to attend one of our virtual stakeholder meetings. Attendance is required for only one session:

• 1pm, Monday 2nd June 2025
• 1pm, Sunday 8th June 2025
• 12pm, Tuesday 10th June 2025

News from the e-Portfolio team

The 2025-26 NHS England Foundation Trainee Pharmacist Programme e-Portfolio will be provided by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and powered by Axia Digital.

Use of the e-portfolio will be mandatory for all foundation trainee pharmacists and supervisors in England.

NHS England, in collaboration with the RPS, will be hosting three webinars to introduce the e-Portfolio for the 2025-26 foundation training cohort:

• Tuesday 15^th July 2025 – 8-9pm for Designated Supervisors 
• Tuesday 22^nd July 2025 – 8-9pm for Foundation Trainee Pharmacists
• Wednesday 23^rd July 2025 – 8-9pm for Designated Prescribing Practitioners 

The webinars will provide an overview of how the e-Portfolio directly supports the use of the NHS England FTPP practice-based assessment strategy, demonstrate key functions, and outline the resources and support available during the course of the year.

Click on the relevant link above to register for one of the webinars. Webinars will be recorded and hosted on the RPS website.

New Trainee Support Guide now available

The new version of the Pharmacy Trainee Support Guide for 2025-26 is now available on our website. We hope employers and trainees find this a useful resource both for accessing and  signposting to support.

For new trainees – a link to the guide is here. If you would like to access support during your training, talk to your employer as soon as possible, even before you start training.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your regional pharmacy team. There is a link to request support within the guide (one for each NHS England region) to formally request support from our teams.

First cohort of pharmacy technicians complete funded critical care training

We would like to congratulate the pharmacy technicians who successfully completed the Critical Care Upskilling Programme funded by NHS England and delivered by the University of Bradford School of Pharmacy.

On 20th May 2025, the Critical Care Pharmacy Technician graduation event saw 12 pharmacy technicians receive certificates for completion of the 12-month level 4 accredited programme. We wish them the best of luck in the future.

Further to the success of this education pathway, NHS England are seeking to commission a further 30 places for pharmacy technicians. To find out more or register your interest in a place, please contact: england.pharmacyteam@nhs.net

Pharmacist independent prescribing

Applications are open for NHS England funded independent prescriber training for cohorts up to March 2026.

Don’t miss out – check your eligibility and apply now.

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