Up to £140,000 made available for research on the new contract
The trust
The Pharmacy Practice Research Trust is an independent research
charity established in 1999 to promote and develop the field of
pharmacy
practice research. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society provides
core funding as part of its investment in practice research.
The trustees are drawn from among senior health policy makers,
leading academics, industrialists and retailers.
The grant for research on the new contract is offered through
the trust’s “Medicines and people” programme, which
aims to promote research that will enable policy makers, manufacturers,
prescribers and others to “better understand people who use
medicines and the contexts in which they use them”.
Information about the trust can be obtained from Zoe Whittington
at the Society (tel 020 7572 2276; e-mail zoe.whittington@rpsgb.org). |
The Pharmacy Practice Research Trust has made available funds of up to £140,000 for a research project exploring the implementation of the contractual
frameworks for community pharmacy.
The call for proposals was announced at
a stakeholder briefing, “Implementing the new contractual framework
for community pharmacy; emerging workforce trends”, hosted by the
trustees of the Pharmacy Practice Research Trust and held at the British
Medical Association on 13 May.
The trust says that, at this early stage, it is keen to identify factors
that help or hinder development so that rapid feedback can help inform
implementation. The research will explore the impact of the change on
pharmacists, their teams and their primary care colleagues. The trustees
will look to support the change management process
with key stakeholders. The trust is keen
to encourage applications that include appropriate representation from
health care professionals, patients and health care users.
Sue Ambler, trust director, said: “Community pharmacists and primary
care organisations are taking on new roles and responsibilities with
respect to the new framework and this will take time to stabilise. This
project will explore the early implementation of the new contractual
framework to inform future development, focusing on what pharmacists
are doing differently under the new arrangements and how these changes
need to be managed and supported.”
The trust says: “Participants at the briefing recognised that the
workforce provides the key to successful implementation of change in
community pharmacy. The need to understand the size, complexity, motivation
and expectations of the workforce is pivotal to delivering quality and
choice. The trust will work with the Department of Health and the NHS
primary care contracting team to produce briefing materials for primary
care trust boards and professional executive committees based on research
funded by the Society and the Department of Health.”
For further information or an application form please contact Beth Allen,
Research Administrator, Pharmacy Practice Research Trust, 1 Lambeth High
Street, London SE1 7JN (e-mail beth.allen@rpsgb.org; tel 020 7572 2466).
The deadline for applications is 2pm on 25 July. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal