The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7227 p797
7 December 2002

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Government promises review of education in NHS primary care

Government ministers are to review education, training and research in the National Health Service in England and Wales to ensure that it is not being neglected in the new management structure.

The review, which is to be carried out jointly by the Department of Health, the Department for Education and Skills and the National Assembly for Wales, aims to ensure that primary care trusts strike the right balance between caring for patients, and learning and research. It will consider the responsibilities that PCTs have to support research and learning and identify any responsibilities that are proving difficult to achieve. The review will look at all the health professions involved, with a report being expected by the December 2003.

Professor Judy Cantrill, professor of medicines (usage, evaluation and policy) at Manchester University's school of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences, commented: "This review should allow the further development of teaching PCTs. However, all PCTs will have a responsibility to support learning for all health care professionals. The PCTs will need to work closely with local higher education providers, including schools of pharmacy, to look at ways of delivering sustainable education which is directly linked to delivery of care to meet the needs of the local population. Within community pharmacy, this is likely to involve education to support different models of medicines management and may well be linked to some other elements of local pharmaceutical services."