The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has revealed the "differential attainment" gap among Black pharmacy students and Foundation trainees.
Research conducted by pharmacy education has revealed unique challenges leading to lower attainment in the registration assessment and an undergraduate awards
gap compared to white students.
The organisation plans to work with new groups including BPSA, GPhC, NHS England, Pharmacy Schools Council and representatives from Schools of Pharmacy, to achieve
a fair and equitable education and training experience for the students.
They plan to reach out to student representative organisations to secure their participation in a quarterly meeting of the group.
Differential attainment is the unexplained variation between groups who share a protected characteristic, for example, ethnicity, gender and disability.
The Health Committee's new report has reminded the government of a much-needed pharmacy workforce plan to support recruitment, training, and retention of staff.
The report makes a number of recommendations to optimise workloads across primary care, reduce pressure on general practice and hospitals, and support the integrated
care systems.
It also recognises the potential of pharmacist independent prescribers to support patient care, backed by appropriate supervision, training, and opportunities for
professional development.
RPS England gave evidence to MPs on the Committee at a public hearing in May, highlighting key issues to support the pharmacy workforce.
RPS director for England, Ravi Sharma, said: "Today's report underlines the urgent need for the Government to set out a comprehensive workforce plan for health and
care.
"It rightly recognises that boosting recruitment and retention, supporting staff wellbeing, fostering inclusion and diversity, and investing in education and
training will be crucial to the future of the NHS.
A three-year contract has been signed between NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and Pharmaceutical Press, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's (RPS) knowledge business, to continue the supply of trusted medicines information though MedicinesComplete, to healthcare professionals in Scotland.
The renewed investment from NES demonstrates unequivocal confidence in the publisher and highlights Pharmaceutical Press' ongoing commitment to provide practical and evidence-based guidance, supporting those who prescribe, dispense, and administer medicines. Essential resources include Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference, Palliative Care formulary, Stockley's Drug Interactions and Critical Illness.
Relied on by healthcare professionals globally for use in everyday practice, clear and concise guidance through MedicinesComplete supports confident decision-making
at the point of care.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and Pharmacy Declares are inviting pharmacy teams from around the world to sign up and commit to taking "bold action"
on climate change as mentioned in a climate change charter which was published on Monday (June 13).
The charter asks pharmacy teams to commit to understanding how human health and the systems which underpin it are "reliant on the state of our natural environment"
and actively explore ways to make pharmacy practice and medicine use more sustainable.
It also asks to collaborate and share best practice to improve sustainability in pharmacy and healthcare; demonstrate leadership on sustainability or being a champion
for sustainability at work; and assist patients to optimise their medicine use to increase both health outcomes and environmental sustainability.
The individuals can also commit to a personal action on climate change of their own choosing.
The Charter is being supported by a strong coalition of organisations from across pharmacy including the Centre for Postgraduate Pharmacy Education, the Clinical
Pharmacy Association, College of Mental Health Pharmacy and Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists.
The Health Education England (HEE) has allocated £440,000 to help upskill pharmacists working in adult critical care across England.
UK Clinical Pharmacy Association (UKCPA) has confirmed with HEE that UKCPA critical care courses meet the criteria for this funding, for courses that complete before
31 March 2023.
"The funding is expected to exceed demand and so it is likely that bids for these UKCPA courses will be approved by HEE, as they meet the learning outcomes in the
new RPS/UKCPA/FICM specialist critical care curricula (in development)," said UKCPA.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has introduced a new comprehensive learning programme to support pharmacists in Wales to deliver the Pharmacy
Independent Prescribing Service (PIPS).
Developed in collaboration with Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW), the programme is designed to "equip pharmacists with the essential knowledge,
skills, and confidence needed to provide excellent patient care."
While the primary emphasis is on pharmacists operating within primary care settings, those from various practice settings are also encouraged to register and
participate in the programme.
Commenting on the collaboration with HEIW, Elen Jones, director for Wales at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said that it will empower pharmacists across the
country to deliver high-quality prescribing services to local communities.
Three pharmacy bodies have called on the government to allow pharmacy students access to the NHS learning support fund (LSF) currently available to students
from other healthcare professions.
Calling it "unjust", the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), British Pharmaceutical Students' Association (BPSA), and Pharmacy Schools Council (PSC) have
voiced their disappointment over continual exclusion of pharmacy students on clinical placements and asked that pharmacy students are given equal access to the LSF.
The Department of Health and Social Care recently announced a 50 percent increase in travel and accommodation allowances for students in nursing, midwifery,
allied health professions, medical, and dental courses. However, this initiative notably excluded pharmacy students.
Leading pharmacy bodies and associations are looking forward to working with 'reappointed' Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, on
'future roles' and 'funding' for the community pharmacy.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) England Country Board Chair, Thorrun Govind, hopes that the ministers will now be able to focus on addressing the key
challenges facing the health service and the country.
"This means not just getting through the winter, but planning for and investing in the future."
She added: "It will be crucial to use the skills of all our health professions to support the NHS recovery, reduce health inequalities, manage the growing cost
of long-term conditions, and deliver best value from medicines.
The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has raised concern over the Health Education England (HEE)'s decision on cutting funding to independent prescribing
training.
The HEE has reportedly decided that no funding will be available to back-fill trainees undertaking the pharmacist independent prescribing (PIP) qualification, or
for the supervision of trainees by DPPs and DMPs.
The PDA noted that, whilst all successful trainee pharmacists will be entering the GPhC register as independent prescribers from 2026, the existing pharmacist
workforce is reliant on opportunities to undertake prescriber training through release from their employment, and the ability to secure a Designated Medical
Practitioner (DMP) or Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) to support the 90 days of supervised practice required.
The association said it has already heard examples of potential DMPs or DPPs requesting a significant fee from trainees before they will provide supervision,
adding that meeting that request is not an option for many.
"This latest decision threatens to undermine the availability of the large numbers of pharmacists seeing supervisors as more IP training becomes available," it
said in a statement.
