Building the pharmacy prescribing workforce
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Nearly all newly qualified pharmacists who registered this year have prescribing status owing to the GPhC 2021 standards for education and the resulting changes in the pharmacy undergraduate and foundation year training. However, there are a cohort of pharmacists who registered prior to 2026/27 who do not yet have the prescribing annotation. There is free Independent Prescribing (IP) training available to these pharmacists should they wish to uptake it. NHSE Workforce, Training and Education have provided funding to organisations under the Teach and Treat initiative to enable the sustainability of this training specifically for Community Pharmacy.
The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) 2026 includes national commissioned services with prescribing, started from October 2026. This means there is likely to be a very high demand for IP training and access to DPPs. A Prescribing Pharmacy will be able to deliver the community pharmacy prescribing Service as set out in the CPCF 2026/27:
- Prescribe for the 7 existing clinical pathways (instead of using PGDs)
- Deliver 5 additional pathways with prescribing only
- Prescribe existing and alternative contraceptive products
- Support patients through prescriptions for Prescription Management
DPP Support is a website that connects experienced prescribers nationally with pharmacists and foundation trainee pharmacists needing support for prescribing training and development.
The changes happening in pharmacy are a big opportunity for the profession and for patients. But training more prescribers also needs experienced practitioners who can supervise them and give them the right learning opportunities.
That is where Designated Prescribing Practitioners (DPPs) come in.
Why DPPs matter
A DPP is an experienced independent prescriber who supports prescribing learning in practice.
Pharmacists on an accredited independent prescribing programme must complete at least 90 hours of learning in practice. Other appropriately qualified prescribers can share that supervision, but the DPP takes primary responsibility and confirms that the pharmacist is competent to prescribe.
DPPs are also central to foundation training. Under the 2021 standards, foundation trainee pharmacists complete at least 90 hours of supervised practice directly related to independent prescribing during their foundation year, with a DPP supervising that period of learning.
DPPs help learners put their knowledge into practice through patient-facing experience, observation, discussion, feedback and reflection. As more pharmacists train to prescribe, access to suitable DPPs matters more and more.
The community pharmacy challenge
For community pharmacists and trainees, finding the right prescribing learning environment can be particularly difficult.
Many pharmacies don't yet have a consultation room set up for clinical examination, a defined patient list or the ongoing caseload that builds prescribing confidence. As a result, many community pharmacy learners complete part of their supervised practice elsewhere, typically in a GP practice, a PCN clinic or a community service such as sexual health, smoking cessation or a respiratory hub.
Often the hardest part is finding a DPP in the first place. It can cost trainees weeks of momentum, and some have had to start again when an arrangement fell through part-way into their programme.
A few practical steps can help:
- Start early. Don't wait for a DPP to come to you, and don't assume your course provider will arrange one.
- Use local networks. PCN pharmacist leads, prescribing pharmacists in GP practices and ICB non-medical prescribing leads can give advice and make introductions.
- Choose a common, well-defined prescribing area, such as contraception, minor illness or hypertension where you'll see plenty of patients. Taking national and local services into consideration.
- Learn from more than one prescriber. Supervision can be shared, and seeing how GPs, nurses and pharmacist prescribers approach a consultation differently is valuable.
- Agree the practicalities early. Settle where the learning will happen, which patient groups you'll focus on, how feedback will be given, and how protected time will be agreed with your employer.
Connecting experienced prescribers with those who need support
There is a lot of prescribing expertise across pharmacy and the wider healthcare workforce, in community pharmacy, general practice, primary care and hospitals.
Some pharmacists and foundation trainees will have DPP support through their existing training arrangements. For others, finding an appropriate DPP can be challenging.
DPP Support helps make those connections.
At www.dppsupport.co.uk, pharmacists and foundation trainee pharmacists can search for potential DPPs by location and scope of practice, view their profiles and contact them directly. Experienced prescribers can register and create a profile, so people looking for support can see their expertise and availability. The directory is free to use for both.
The platform can support:
- Pharmacists looking for a DPP for independent prescribing training
- Foundation trainee pharmacists needing DPP support during foundation training
- Employers and training sites looking for DPP capacity
- Experienced independent prescribers who want to support pharmacists and foundation trainees
Could you make a difference as a DPP?
For experienced independent prescribers, acting as a DPP is a chance to share clinical expertise and help develop the prescribing workforce.
If you have the skills and experience to act as a DPP, registering with DPP Support makes it easier for pharmacists and foundation trainees to find and contact you.
If you're looking for a DPP, the platform gives you a way to find potential support and start that conversation.
Building prescribing capacity together
Developing the prescribing workforce isn't just about increasing the number of prescribers. It also needs supervision and learning opportunities to support their development.
DPPs are an essential part of that. Connecting experienced prescribers with the pharmacists and foundation trainees who need their support will help build prescribing capacity across the profession.
Newly qualified pharmacists
Qualifying as a prescriber is the start of the journey, not the end.
Pharmacists who join the register with a prescribing annotation have been signed off by their DPP as competent to prescribe. Like any new prescriber, they'll still need support in their early years. That support helps them strengthen their practice, handle more complex cases and become more independent.
Experienced prescribers remain an important part of that development. But access can be harder in community pharmacy, especially for locums or pharmacists who are the only pharmacist in the pharmacy. Building relationships with other healthcare professionals in primary care can make a real difference.
NHS England Workforce, Training and Education has developed the Pharmacist Enhanced Practice Pathway to support pharmacists at this stage. The pilot offers NHS England-funded education support for up to 1,200 learners across two intakes, in September 2026 and January 2027. CPPE will provide educational supervision for up to 300 learners who can't get it through their workplace.
More information on the pathway and how to register can be found here: Pharmacist Enhanced Practice Pathway | NHS England | Workforce, training and education
Julie Lonsdale, Pharmacy Workforce and Integration Lead for Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB says “This enhanced pathway will be very beneficial to community pharmacists and locums, especially as access to multidisciplinary working with support is often limited when working in community pharmacy. It will particularly help where the newly qualified pharmacist is the only prescriber working in the pharmacy. I also encourage all pharmacists to build relationships with other healthcare professionals within primary care as we move towards services with prescribing; neighbourhood working will hopefully enable this going forwards”.
What can a newly qualified pharmacist prescriber safely do, and how should their scope develop over time?
To help answer this, senior pharmacy leaders in the North West have produced three documents setting out recommendations and principles for newly qualified pharmacist prescribers' scope of practice. They're designed to help organisations understand what these prescribers can be expected to do in their first years, and how to support them as their practice grows.
These documents can be found here: Preparing to be a Newly Qualified Pharmacist
Take the next step
With prescribing now part of community pharmacy services, supervision and support are needed at every stage of a prescriber's development.
- Looking for a DPP? Search for experienced prescribers near you, view their profiles and contact them directly.
- An experienced prescriber? Register as a DPP and help train the next generation of pharmacist prescribers.
- An employer or training site? Use the directory to find DPPs for your pharmacists and foundation trainees.
- Newly qualified? Look into the Pharmacist Enhanced Practice Pathway and start building links with prescribers in primary care.
Visit www.dppsupport.co.uk today. It's free to search and free to register.
DPP Support
Web: www.dppsupport.co.uk
Email: support@dppsupport.co.uk
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