An NHS England (NHSE) official last week (November 5) revealed that it will pilot a new early careers pathway in 2026/27 to onboard newly registered pharmacist prescribers.
Speaking during an NHSE webinar, pharmacy workforce dean Shane Costigan said that the commissioner is “looking at piloting an early career pathway for pharmacists” who will register as independent prescribers (IPs) from next summer.
Read more: NHSE to ‘consult’ with CPE on national prescribing service
NHSE yesterday (November 11) confirmed to C+D that it is planning to test a cross-sector onboarding pathway for newly registered pharmacist prescribers from 2026.
This will include all sectors of pharmacist practice including community pharmacy, it added.
Read more: NHSE: ICBs to ‘introduce’ pharmacy prescribing services in 2026/27
Costigan explained that NHSE is “cognisant that [it has] a workforce of pharmacy professionals that have the skills and knowledge” to deliver on some of its “key ambitions”.
The body wants to “wrap a range of support offers” around the pharmacy workforce so that they “are able to optimise and grow and deliver” on these ambitions, he said.
And Costigan added that NHSE is looking at how to make “the best use” of the skill set new IP pharmacists will have when “they come onto the register from next summer” – when all newly qualified pharmacists will become IPs upon registration.
National prescribing service?
It comes after NHSE last month announced that discussions with Community Pharmacy England (CPE) about a “national service” for community pharmacy prescribing will begin next April.
In a letter to integrated care boards (ICBs), it set out the “next steps” to be taken after the community pharmacy independent prescribing (IP) pathfinder programme comes to an end on December 31.
Read more: Sector ‘not ready’ for IP revolution, IPA board member warns
Meanwhile, NHSE also last month instructed ICBs to introduce prescribing services in pharmacies next year.
A new planning framework said that ICBs “must introduce prescribing-based services into community pharmacies during 2026/27” to “support primary care access and increase the role of community pharmacy”.
