The Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) has called the expansion of pharmacist prescribing “a major and positive development”, but highlighted that “several workforce and implementation considerations” must be addressed.
Responding to guidance for integrated care boards (ICBs) on community pharmacy prescribing published by NHS England (NHSE) last month, it said as prescribing becomes a “more central part of pharmacy practice, it will be important to ensure that the workforce is properly supported to deliver these services safely, sustainably and fairly”.
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The PDA said prescribing expansion “brings additional clinical responsibility, professional accountability and workload, and should therefore be supported by clear workforce planning, appropriate investment, robust governance arrangements and protected development time”.
Data from April showed a 25% increase in Pharmacy First consultations in the second year of the programme from the first year, without a corresponding increase in workforce capacity.
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The PDA argued that “the success of pharmacist prescribing should not be measured solely by service activity or patient uptake”.
Instead, “it should be passessed by its impact on workforce sustainability, pharmacist wellbeing, recruitment, retention and the ability of pharmacies to continue delivering safe and effective patient care.”
Two-tier workforce
It also said that “the transition to a prescribing profession should not create a two-tier workforce” which disadvantages pharmacists that won’t be prescribing.
The organisation said pharmacists should be “meaningfully involved” in all aspects of prescribing policy.
“Their insight into workload, workforce capacity, patient safety and professional standards is essential to ensuring that policy is grounded in the realities of practice,” it said.
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It comes after an NHSE letter from July 31 outlined what ICBs are “expected to do” to support the introduction of independent prescribing in the autumn.
And it follows the announcement of a new national pilot programme to help pharmacists qualifying this year as independent prescribers to develop “confidence, competence, and consistency in prescribing practice”.
