Pharmacy Workforce Review published

Health Minister Robin Swann has announced the publication of his Department’s Pharmacy Workforce Review.

The Review contains an analysis of the current pharmacy workforce in Northern Ireland and recommendations to inform the development of the pharmacy workforce over the next ten years.

Minister Swann said: “Pharmacists and their teams play an essential role in delivering health services to the people of Northern Ireland. This has been particularly evident in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic with pharmacy teams rising to the challenges posed by the emergency to adapt and maintain their services.

“With our aging population, our Health Service needs to care for increasing numbers of people with complex medical needs taking multiple medicines. Pharmacists with their unique set of skills and knowledge really are the medicines experts that our Health Service needs to help ensure that our people get the best possible outcomes from their medicines.

“Implementing the recommendations contained in the review will ensure that the pharmacy workforce has the necessary capability and capacity to fully support the transformation of our Health Service in the coming years.”

The recommendations contained within the Review are consistent with wider proposals for the UK-wide reform of the initial education and training of pharmacists previously announced by the UK pharmacy regulators, including the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, in July 2020.

An early priority action for the Department, in response to the Review’s recommendations, is to take immediate steps to attract, recruit and retain more pharmacists in community, hospital and general practice roles within Northern Ireland.

Minister Swann added: “While some of the recommendations in the report will take time to implement fully, I am delighted to welcome today’s launch of ‘Pharmacy Futures NI’.

“This campaign will showcase the very best of our pharmacy profession, and demonstrate to current and future pharmacists from near and far why Northern Ireland is the best place to take the next step on their journey towards a rewarding career.”

Cathy Harrison, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer at the Department of Health added: “Our review has considered the full scope of pharmacy practice in HSC settings, including community pharmacy, general practice and hospitals. The recommendations contained within the report are ambitious and transformational for the pharmacy profession in Northern Ireland. Pharmacy teams are a critical part of the multi-disciplinary medicines optimisation workforce required to ensure that our people get the most from the medicines that they use every day, and are in high demand as a result.”

“Planned reforms of the initial education and training of pharmacists in the UK will see pharmacists taking on increasingly clinical roles across all sectors. Optimising the skill mix of the pharmacy workforce is an essential part of realising the full potential of these wider developments. A central theme of the Review is developing the role of pharmacy technicians within the workforce in tandem with progressing the regulation and registration of pharmacy technicians as registered professionals in their own right.”

Notes to editors: 

1. The Pharmacy Workforce Review was finalized in late 2019, with recommendations made for the development of the whole pharmacy workforce as well as recommendations specific to particular sectors of the profession, such as community pharmacy.
2. Following extensive engagement with pharmacy stakeholders from across the profession an action plan for implementation has also been developed which sets out the Department’s commitments to specific actions that will implement the recommendations contained within the Review itself.
3. Plans to formally publish the Pharmacy Workforce Review in March 2020 were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however in recent months the completed Review and associated Action Plan have been considered by and formally approved by the Department’s Workforce Strategy Programme Board, which was established to oversee and deliver the implementation of the HSC Workforce Strategy in the coming years.
4. The project board was co-chaired by Professor Colin Adair, Postgraduate Pharmacy Dean and Director of the Northern Ireland Centre for Pharmacy Learning and Development (NICPLD), and Ms Jill MacIntyre, Head of Pharmacy and Medicines Management at the South Eastern HSC Trust. The review was planned and reported in accordance with the Regional HSC Workforce Planning Framework, which is a practical approach to ensuring a workforce of the right size and with the right skills.
5. Reforms to standards for the initial education and training of pharmacists are being led by the UK Pharmacy Regulators, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI), which aim to ensure that pharmacy students are prepared for increasingly clinical roles in a multi-sector health environment across Trusts, General Practice and Community Pharmacy.
6. For media enquiries please contact DOH Press Office by email: pressoffice@health-ni.gov.uk
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8. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

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