The RPS announced the launch of a “new national learning programme” yesterday (September 16) to “support pharmacists in identifying and managing patients with insomnia”.
Developed in partnership with Idorsia Pharmaceuticals UK Ltd, the programme is designed for pharmacists “working across primary and secondary care”.
According to the RPS, it will cover “both acute and chronic insomnia, including its impact on co-morbidities such as mental health conditions and chronic pain”.
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The programme launches next month and will include webinars on understanding both “sleep hygiene and wellbeing” and “insomnia and its impact on health”, it said.
It added that “three patient-focused podcasts and three e-learning modules” are still in development and will be released “later this year and early into 2026”.
The RPS also noted that the prgoramme “aligns with wider NHS goals around improving sleep health, reducing inappropriate prescribing and empowering patients to self-care”.
“High quality” education
RPS head of professional development Helen Chang said that the body was “proud to collaborate with partners and experts like Idorsia to develop education that is high-quality, evidence-based and supports pharmacists directly in practice”.
“Sleep health is a vital part of patient wellbeing, and pharmacists are in a key position to support those experiencing insomnia,” she said.
It comes after the RPS last month announced a set of changes to its leadership team as part of its transition to royal college status next spring.
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The body will “no longer require the existing chief officer roles”, outside of the chief executive position, as part of planned changes to its leadership team, it revealed.
Meanwhile, seven in ten RPS members who took part in the ballot in March voted in favour of the controversial plans for the body to become a royal college.
The RPS said at the time that of the 19,594 members eligible to vote, only 6,144 submitted a vote, “making the voter turnout 31.4%”.
