Primary Care Pharmacy June 2000 Vol 1 No 3 p89

News

Minimum standards for PCG pharmacists

Primary care pharmacists must achieve a minimum standard of postgraduate education before they can be appointed to primary care posts, according to researchers at Aston university.
The call is made in a report on the training needs of primary care pharmacists commissioned by the West Midlands office of the NHS Executive. The report says: "With the development of this new function and burgeoning potential for pharmacist involvement, there arises the inevitable question of training and support. Current evidence of suitability and capability of individuals who have undertaken the new role is mixed."
The authors of the report - Dr Keith Wilson and Dr Jill Jesson (Aston) and Professor Alison Blenkinsopp (Keele university) - found that 20 per cent of their sample of primary care pharmacists had received no specific training for the role. Of the 80 per cent who had, less than half had received formal qualifications at the end of their training. Three-quarters of participants in the survey felt that there should be a system for ensuring competence before somebody could be employed as a primary care pharmacist. The proportion supporting this view was much greater among those who already held such a qualification. The report suggests a postgraduate certificate as the minimum level of training for primary care pharmacists.
"The training needs of primary care pharmacists: a report to the NHSE West Midlands" is available from Aston PPR Group, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET (tel 0121 359 3611), ISBN 1-85449-326-4, price £15.