Proposals to teach independent prescribing in the pharmacy degree have been abandoned because of concerns over funding and experience, C+D Senators have revealed.

Both the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Great Britain (RPSGB) and the NHS's Health Education England (HEE) had considered integrating prescribing into the course, but practical concerns had proven a stumbling block, speakers told the C+D Senate on education and training last week (May 16).

GPhC head of education and registration policy Damian Day revealed that funding constraints had caused the former regulator to step back from the idea in 2008, despite the potential benefits.

"The issue was [that] there wasn't enough money to provide the clinical exposure you would need to actually train someone up as a prescriber" Damian Day, GPhC	More on education and training Fear of failing exam holds pre-regs back,       Senators warn Pharmacists need more qualifications but don't       have the time to learn The C+D Senate as it happened MORE NEWS
	"The issue was [that] there wasn't enough money to provide the clinical exposure you would need to actually train someone up as a prescriber," Mr Day explained. "The question is, should the funding be available?"

Health Education England's head of education and training Sue Ambler said she had also discussed the benefits of teaching full prescribing skills to pharmacy students, but there were questions over whether those powers should come with experience.

"The only thing we have to bear in mind is, no matter how well you do the first five years, there are still some things you can only learn once you're registered," she argued. "Those [first] two years on the register taking decisions and knowing what it feels like to take decisions is really important."

Contractor and RPS English Pharmacy Board member Sid Dajani said he would support the integration of basic prescribing powers into the degree, after finding his independent prescribing qualification had made a significant professional impact. Mr Dajani argued that pharmacists should be able to change a faulty GP prescription without necessarily having to go back to the prescriber.

"If you know they've been prescribed one [tablet], where it's meant to be 100, you could change that," he told the Senate. "So why can't pharmacists become prescribers at an undergraduate level?"

However, Ms Ambler argued that too many prescribing powers could result in pharmacists effectively becoming doctors.

"There's changing a prescription that's clearly wrong – that's still prescribing – versus the other end, where you are making a very big and serious clinical decision about a treatment, and we need to think about what's realistic for pharmacists from day one," she stressed.

Catch up with the Senate as it happened with C+D's live blog.

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