The Manchester-based Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education has announced that hospital pharmacists can now use its distance learning programmes.
Dr Peter Wilson (director, CPPE) told The Journal on September 27: "We have been conducting research over the past few years to determine if our distance learning programmes would contribute to the continuing professional development of hospital pharmacists. Demand to participate in the project exceeded the number of places available and the results were unequivocally positive. Over 80 per cent of pharmacists involved expressed a desire for continued access to our distance learning programmes."
When the CPPE was first established, its remit was restricted to providing continuing education for community pharmacists. There was an assumption that continuing education for hospital pharmacists was provided by health authorities and National Health Service trusts. That is no longer the case.
"Policy has moved and cross-sectoral learning is an important plank in NHS policy," Dr Wilson said.
This extension of the CPPE's services, which was included in its bid for funding for the current financial year, means that all pharmacists working in the National Health Service in England can request any two print-based distance learning packs and one computer-assisted learning programme from a recently distributed new catalogue.
A new workshop brochure to be published in November will contain details of workshops which are open to hospital pharmacists.