The General Pharmaceutical Council will “place obligations” on NHS England to ensure that foundation year trainees have access to designated prescribing practitioners (DPPs), the regulator’s chief executive has said.  

Addressing the annual Avicenna conference in Heathrow yesterday (Sunday September 8), GPhC chief Duncan Rudkin commented on the “complicated exercise” involved in preparing systems for the first cohorts of foundation year pharmacists who will qualify as independent prescribers as part of their core registration. 

The requirements for foundation year cohorts from 2025-26 onwards will include access to 90 hours' supervised training with a DPP – a factor that has caused widespread concern and forced some employers to drastically reduce the number of placements they offer amid a nationwide 'shortage' of DPPs.

Mr Rudkin said the GPhC had brought together “key stakeholders” including training placements platform Oriel and statutory education bodies – “which in England is actually NHS England itself” – to make sure “that we and they understand what’s needed and are held to account to deliver that”.

He commented: “From next year, we as the regulator will accredit NHSE to be the organisation which provides foundation training. 

“We will place obligations on NHSE, which will include obligations in relation to making sure that trainees have the right access to supervision by not only a designated supervisor, but also a designated prescriber.” 

Mr Rudkin said that the number of Oriel training places on offer in England is 4,770 compared to “a likely demand of 3,600 – so on the face of it, there is an excess of places”.

“That sounds fine, provided those places make good and deliver on the new requirements,” said Mr Rudkin.  

He added: “One of the things that’s keeping us awake at night is working with NHSE and others to make sure those DPPs are there to provide the supervision and support your trainees – or rather, I should probably say, the NHSE trainees working within your pharmacies.

“The work that NHSE is currently undertaking is making sure that they are communicating with you as employers so that there’s a clear plan for provision of DPP supervision.”

He said that in addition to employers who “have plans in place” or are working towards this, there is a “third category” of employers who are offering places on Oriel  but “have not shown any evidence” that they have a plan for providing DPP access.  

“That last group is getting a lot of attention at the moment, and that’s being done at a national level,” he said. 

Tightening online pharmacy rules

Mr Rudkin also announced that the GPhC will soon launch a consultation aimed at reducing the risk profile of online pharmacies, which are consistently overrepresented in the regulator’s casework. 

“I would say online services are not necessarily inherently more dangerous – perhaps the risk management hasn’t kept pace with the design of services,” he commented, adding that while some companies prioritise a “transactional” approach over patient safety, there is “no going back” from the trend of patients using online pharmacies for convenience. 

The GPhC exercise will focus on safe consultation models, in particular tackling models that rely “exclusively on online forms,” he said, explaining: “That form needs to be supplemented in some way.” 

The consultation will also look at medicine categories where there is a potential for abuse or overdose, including weight loss medicines, said Mr Rudkin. 

He added that the GPhC is pursuing companies who are making supplies of GLP-1 receptor agonists that are “not strictly necessary” for patient health in defiance of MHRA shortage alerts.