I recently attended the Royal Pharmaceutical Society workforce summit, where delegates from around the UK and across different care settings discussed the need for a structured support pathway and credential for newly qualified pharmacists as they enter the workplace as prescribers.
In my role as a patient advocate, I have been closely involved in supporting the development of a credentialing curriculum for this new pharmacy role. The impact of this change to the healthcare landscape will be felt keenly by those who, like me, use the health system frequently. It’s right that the voices of people living with long-term conditions are part of the conversation about the skills and support pharmacists will need as they begin practising for the first time.
Prescribing pharmacists will greatly help patients get the medications they need, when they need them. Community pharmacists are readily accessible — often without the need for an appointment — in the communities where people live. Given the challenges of obtaining a GP appointment, this is incredibly welcome. And I know that for several important aspects of ongoing care, the pharmacist is the best person to speak to anyway.
However, the public as a whole do not appreciate the full spectrum of what pharmacists can do for them, or how this has the potential to change fundamentally when pharmacists qualify as prescribers in 2026. As pharmacists’ clinical roles increase, service users need to have full confidence in what they are competent to do, as do pharmacists themselves. Credentialing is part of this journey.
Expectations of pharmacists will be higher than ever after 2026. Improved patient outcomes and wellbeing, scientific progress and public health all depend on pharmacists continuing to grow in their practice. But patients need to have confidence in the support and assurance structures around them as they take on this vital new role.
Katie-Rose Stone, lived experience advocate
