The ‘West Yorkshire DPP Support and Prescribing Support Platform’ is one of the 19 finalists of the West Yorkshire Mayor’s “big ideas challenge”, the local authority announced last month (July 31).
Described as a “digital platform offering the region’s pharmacists training, mentorship and peer support” to “improve primary care”, it has secured a £20,000 development grant and “skills-building package”, it said.
Read more: DH and NHSE ‘unable to confirm’ how many DPPs available
Developers told judges it will “empower pharmacists to improve patient access, deliver safer prescribing and directly tackle local health inequalities, strengthening primary care for everyone across West Yorkshire”.
From 2025/26, all foundation trainees must have access to a designated prescribing practitioner (DPP) and a prescribing learning environment – but sector bodies have repeatedly expressed their concerns about a shortage of DPPs.
Challenge
Kathy Nothstine, director of cities and societies at Challenge Works, which is supporting the initiative, said the solutions showed potential to “not only improve health inequality across the region, but to effect broader economic, social and civic change.”
The £1 million challenge was launched by Mayor Tracy Brabin in February.
Read more: David Webb: ‘Definitely things we need to learn’ on DPP access
In March 2026, three finalists will be selected as overall winners of the challenge and awarded a further £100,000 to commercialise their innovations.
It comes as pharmacy leaders last month slammed the government after it was “unable to confirm” how many DPPs are available less than a month before trainees were due to start in post.
