NHS England (NHSE) will fund 530 apprenticeships in community pharmacy for pre-registration trainee pharmacy technicians, its chief pharmaceutical officer (CPhO) David Webb announced today (September 6).

Providing the keynote address at the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK) conference, Webb said that these apprenticeships support the NHS long term workforce plan, which “recognises the need for pharmacy technician expansion across all healthcare sectors”.

Read more: NHSE fully funds 80 accuracy checking pharmacy technician training places

Liz Fidler, a former APTUK president and NHSE’s senior professional advisor for pharmacy technician practice, told the conference that details of funding for the training programme will be announced in the Autumn.

Webb said that the funding specifically for roles in community pharmacies marks a “transition” from the last five years, in which bolstering pharmacy technician levels in “secondary care and primary care networks” (PCNs) was NHSE’s focus. 

“Exciting developments”

The England CPhO also provided more details on “exciting developments” for pharmacy technician “professional practice” and career development.

He said that NHSE is busy working on “plans for implementation at a national level” of the June legislative change that permits pharmacy technicians to supply medicines under patient group directions (PGDs).

Webb added that the commissioner has formed a pharmacy technician practice and policy strategic oversight group that provides leadership around the implementation of the PGD changes.

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And Fidler told delegates that in addition to the funding for apprenticeships in community pharmacy, pharmacy technician apprentices are also eligible to be funded using the additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS) in PCNs.

NHSE is taking a “holistic view” about where pharmacy technicians can train, noting that “colleagues in community pharmacy have not had the same access to some post-registration development”, she said.

Last month, the pharmacy negotiator announced that NHSE is fully funding 80 accuracy checking pharmacy technician programme places on a three-to-twelve-month “training and development programme”.