Last month pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock revealed that of the 2,417 graduates who trained in 2025/26 and required a DPP, exactly 2,013 of these – more than 80% – had submitted details of an “assigned DPP” to NHS England by February 2026.
Though this is a large majority, the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) raised concerns last week that it still leaves “over 400 pharmacy graduates undertaking their foundation training this year do not have an assigned DPP”.
These figures “lay bare the stark reality that some trainees may not have the opportunity to register as a pharmacist”, it said.
Read more: David Webb: ‘Definitely things we need to learn’ on DPP access
The CCA said it was concerned that the “continued shortage of DPPs will mean that some graduates from 2025/26 will only be able to secure a DPP for the next academic year”.
But it stressed this would have a “knock-on effect” on the availability of DPPs for the 2026/27 academic year, adding that there is already a “shortage of DPPs” within community pharmacy.
Urgently engage
CCA chief executive Malcolm Harrison reiterated that “over 400 pharmacy graduates may not be able to complete their foundation training, through no fault of their own”.
He called on NHS England (NHSE) to “urgently engage with placement providers to ensure that there are sufficient DPPs for all foundation pharmacists”, adding that the CCA has been “warning” NHSE about the shortage of DPPs “for some time”.
“The sector continues to experience a shortage of community pharmacists [and] the current requirements are simply not up to speed and will mean fewer pharmacists join the register,” Harrison added.
Read more: DPP shortage: ‘Excess’ pharmacy trainee places ‘on the face of it’, says GPhC chief
It comes after the CCA warned in May 2024 that a lack of DPPs could leave a “significant number of graduates” struggling to find employment”.
And in August 2024 the Royal Pharmaceutical Council (RPS) and the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) joined forces to call for action over the shortage of DPPs.
Meanwhile, C+D reported in August 2024 that pharmacists training to be independent prescribers (IP) have been asked to pay between £2,500 and £3,000 for their own DPP by “many employers”.
