Workforce

Supplementary and Independent Prescribing
The Health and Social Care Act 2001 allowed for the introduction of independent and supplementary prescribing status for non medical healthcare professionals, including pharmacists.

Supplementary and Independent prescribing enables pharmacists working in community pharmacy to prescribe medicines for patients either to enable improved management and support for long term conditions or to make dosage adjustments on repeat prescriptions as a result of, for example, therapeutic drug monitoring. This is convenient for patients and eases the workload of their GP colleagues and makes use of the pharmacists’ expertise in medicines.

The Scottish Government ensured funding in 2005 to establish community pharmacy supplementary prescribing clinics in order to utilise recently acquired prescribing skills, promote closer working between GPs and community pharmacists and improve access to medicines for patients.

Funding has continued since 2005 to allow the community pharmacists and GPs to tailor the remit of the clinics towards meeting locally identified patient needs. Pharmacists and GP practices may choose to deliver the clinics as half a day per week, one day per fortnight or any other reasonable combination that amounts to a half day per week.

Newly qualified community pharmacists prescribers seeking to apply for funding should follow the procedure outlined in circular PCA (P) (2008)10 Community Pharmacy:  Supplementary and independent prescribing clinics.

Circulars
PCA (P) (2008)10 Community Pharmacy:  supplementary and independent prescribing clinics
CEL (2007) 24 Pharmacist Independent Prescribing - Guidance for NHS Health Boards
PCA (P) (2007)13 A Joint Working Initiative Between General Practitioners and Community Pharmacists 2007-08: Community Pharmacy Supplementary Prescribing Clinics
PCA (P) (2006)11 A Joint Working Initiative Between General Practitioners and Community Pharmacists 2006-07: Community Pharmacy Supplementary Prescribing Clinics Circular
HDL (2005) 30 New NHS Supplementary Prescribers of Medicines and Appliances Circular
PCA (P) (2005) 13 Community Pharmacy Supplementary Prescribing Clinics Circular

Pre-Registration Pharmacist Scheme (PRPS)
It was decided in 2006 that from 2008-09 onwards, in respect of both community and hospital pharmacy, pre-registration placements in Scotland will be organised, administered and fully funded by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) Pharmacy. The new scheme is referred to as the NHS Pre-registration Pharmacist Scheme (PRPS).

Pre-registration pharmacists are graduates who have completed a degree in Pharmacy and are undertaking their training in practice to allow them to register with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. This period in practice lasts one year and registration with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society requires both completion of the year in practice and a pass in a examination to allow admittance. 

The purpose of the Preregistration Pharmacist Scheme (PRPS) is to ensure that every pre-registration pharmacist trained in Scotland receives the same high quality training opportunity, support and experience regardless of practice setting, and are familiar with the practice requirements of the new community pharmacy contract.

The Scottish Government has made sure of continuing funding for the scheme to ensure the pharmacists of tomorrow are trained to deliver the new pharmacy contract.

The current grant paid to community pharmacy contractors is £23,000 per annum this covers the cost of the employee and any employer costs. The grant is paid quarterly in arrears to community pharmacy contractors by NES

Further information on the Preregistration Pharmacist Scheme (PRPS) is available here

Circulars
PCA (P) (2007) 17 Community and Hospital Pharmacy: Pre-Registration Funding
PCA (P) (2007) 4 Community Pharmacy: Pre-Registration Funding 
PCA(P)(2006) 22  Community Pharmacy: Pre-Registration Funding