Scottish pharmacy bodies have unveiled a five-year timeline to modernise pharmacy education, boosting the number of Independent Prescribers (IPs) and helping to deliver on strategic ambitions for pharmacy in Scotland.

 

The plan sets out timings for the introduction of the new Foundation Training Year, introduction of new GPhC standards, and the eventual graduation of the first new IPs, in 2026.

 

This is all part of the bigger picture, enabling pharmacists to have a greater role in clinical care, enhanced recognition as experts in medicines and increased roles in public health and wellbeing.

 

The plan has been co-created by Scotland’s Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, NHS Education for Scotland (NES), the University of Strathclyde and Robert Gordon University, Directors of Pharmacy, Community Pharmacy Scotland, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

 

Professor Anne Watson, Postgraduate Pharmacy Dean at NES said:

“Pharmacy services, across all sectors, have developed significantly over recent years to meet increasingly complex health and social care needs as an integral part of the multidisciplinary team.

 

“We have a co-created plan to deliver an ambitious five-year plan of educational reforms in Scotland. It will greatly enhance the number of active pharmacist independent prescribers and will ensure that the strategic plans for all pharmacy services can be realised.”

 

The timeline is available on the NES website.