Community Pharmacy Expert Advisory Group

The RPS are exploring the governance of prescribing and dispensing by the same individual and developing policy and thought leadership in this area. With an increasing number of pharmacists upskilling as prescribers alongside the new registrants from 2026 who will be prescribers at point of registration, services are being redesigned to meet the needs of patients and the wider NHS.

CPEAG have provided invaluable input into this piece of work. With a forward-thinking approach and patient access to medicines and safety at the heart, they were able to draw upon their own practice and that of wider colleagues in community pharmacy. The group consists of Independent Prescribers, and through learning from prescribing services already in operation in Scotland and Wales were able to describe pragmatically how this already happens safely.

In addition, the group described how a similar process of diagnosis and medication supply by the same individual occurs widely currently for patient benefit by utilising PGDs. The need for strong governance supporting safe and effective practice, utilising the skill mix of all members of the pharmacy team, and ensuring patients access services and medicines in a timely safe manner were all highlighted.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) consulted on proposed changes in legislation to enable pharmacy technicians to supply and administer medicines under a PGD.

CPEAG provided extensive and valuable input into helping shape the response of the RPS which was agreed by country boards.

The group were supportive of the proposed changes, looking through the lens of their own forward thinking and evolving practice together with that of colleagues; benefits such as fully utilising the skills of all members of the team and improving access to service were discussed. Considerations of the need around support, training, competence, and confidence of pharmacy technicians was discussed together with the underpinning governance needed to support any changes.

The GPhC launched a consultation early in the year to gain ‘views on strengthening our hearings and outcomes draft guidance for fitness to practice panels’.

CPEAG provided valuable insight to country boards into helping shape the RPS response to this consultation.

Whilst, quite correctly, there was a large focus on cultural differences within the consultation, CPEAG were able to highlight the importance of neurodiversity and the consideration of how neurodiverse individuals may express their remorse or sorrow in a different way, and the importance of this when considering fitness to practice cases. CPEAG highlighted the lack of noting throughout the proposals of the negative impact a Fitness to Practice case would likely have on an individual’s mental health. The group strongly noted the importance of ongoing mental health support for individuals throughout a fitness to practice hearing.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Greener Pharmacy Guide has been developed to raise awareness and capability of pharmacy staff to reduce the environmental impacts of the pharmacy sector. The guide sets out actions that pharmacy staff and pharmacy settings can achieve to help the NHS meet its net zero targets and will be available in Spring 2024.

CPEAG provided valuable feedback to help shape and refine the Greener Pharmacy Guide, prior to it going to wider consultation. A pragmatic and practical approach from the group highlighted the need for a simple version, tailored specifically to community pharmacy that would support community pharmacy teams to adapt normal practice to help meet the greener agenda. Highlighting the pressure on colleagues, the group helped steer a version that is aimed to not be onerous on pharmacy teams or generate additional work but support them in tailoring normal day to day practice to support the environment.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in collaboration with The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) was commissioned by NHS England to create guidance on repeat prescribing in England as part of the National Overprescribing Review.

A focus group session was held with CPEAG to help inform this workstream, and helped shape the final guidance.

The importance of patient engagement and education around medicines ordering was highlighted. Key benefits to reducing unnecessary medicines ordering were identified, these included financial, reducing waste, improving patient safety, and reducing pharmacy workload to create capacity for service delivery. The group highlighted this would need to be supported with access to shared care records to help accurately identify any unnecessary overprescribing.

CPEAG have contributed significantly to the development of RPS guidance and the shaping of policy and consultation responses relevant to community pharmacy during 2023. I would like to thank all the group members for their contributions to date. We look forward to continuing to support the RPS team and boards with advice and wide-ranging views on key issues affecting community pharmacy in 2024.