Connect Images / Alamy Stock Photo
NHS England has funded the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) to offer 80 places on its accuracy checking pharmacy technician (ACPT) programme.
Applications are now open for up to ten funded places per month, beginning in August 2024, for pharmacy technicians working in community pharmacy, NHS hospitals, and in health and justice.
Funding, of which 50% has been allocated for community pharmacy and 50% for other sectors, will end when all 80 places have been allocated, or by the end of March 2025.
The CPPE website says: “The CPPE ACPT programme is a 3–12 month training and development programme available to pharmacy technicians, with employer support.
“The course is designed to support pharmacy technicians in meeting a range of competencies during their training to deliver safe and effective patient care.”
The scope of the programme is to train and assess pharmacy technicians to perform the final accuracy check of dispensed items on prescriptions that have been clinically screened or approved by a pharmacist. The usual cost of the course is £330 including VAT.
Self-funded places will remain available for pharmacy technicians who do not work in community pharmacy, health and justice or in an NHS hospital, CPPE said.
Nicola Stockmann, president of the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK), said: “APTUK welcomes all investment in opportunities for pharmacy technicians to expand their skillset and develop their individual scope of practice.”
In September 2023, CPPE announced up to 840 pharmacy technicians would be given training under its ‘Community pharmacy technician: advancing your role’ programme.
The scheme is designed to allow pharmacy technicians to take on greater responsibility in dispensing and deliver more clinical services in community pharmacy.
Since April 2023, pharmacy technicians have been able to carry out blood pressure checks and deliver smoking cessation as part of changes to service specifications.
The changes followed several initiatives that expanded the role of pharmacy technicians, including administering flu vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines and taking part in discharge medicine reviews.
