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NHS England has been accused of not having a “clear view” of how many designated prescribing practitioners have been trained up to help prospective pharmacist prescribers gain their qualification.

Concerns were raised after the publication yesterday of a written answer from secondary care minister Karin Smyth to Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan concerning the number of DPPs who have been confirmed in the Oriel recruitment system for 2025.

Ms Smyth replied: “All training posts in the National Recruitment Scheme for the 2025/26 training year were required to declare that they would provide access to a DPP for prescribing supervision as part of their agreement to the Terms of Participation.

“NHSE requires that DPP information is submitted within 13 weeks of the trainee pharmacist starting in post. Trainee pharmacists will start in post from July 2025. 

“NHSE is therefore, currently in the process of contacting training sites and requesting details of all supervisors, including Designated Supervisors and DPPs.”

Ms Smyth’s remarks indicate that there is at present no central register of approved DPPs, potentially raising concerns that not enough is being done to address perceptions of a widespread shortage of the supervisors. 

The Company Chemists’ Association warned that this means NHSE “does not currently have a clear view of how many DPPs are in existence”.

Ms Smyth’s statement followed a July 3 statement from pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock that referred to NHSE training “1,000 DPP and educational supervisors to support the training of pharmacist independent prescribers”.

It is unclear whether Mr Kinnock was referring to the announcement in September 2023 of 500 DPP training places and 500 places for “other educational supervisors”. 

If this is the case, it would appear that fewer than 500 individuals may have been trained up as DPPs since September 2023. 

P3pharmacy has repeatedly contacted NHSE to clarify how many individuals have taken up DPP training since September 2023, but has not yet received a response.

In May this year, NHSE announced it was funding 3,300 places on independent prescribing courses with start dates ranging from June 2025 to March 2026. The funding “only extends to course fees,” said NHSE, explaining that “no payment will be available for the employer and/or the DPP to undertake the supervision” of the candidate completing the course.

CCA chief Malcolm Harrison commented on yesterday’s revelation: “It is concerning that NHS England is unable to confirm how many DPPs are currently available, despite trainee pharmacists being due to start in post from this month.

“We have repeatedly called for transparency on the number of DPPs available. 

“We hope that this matter is resolved quickly so that pharmacy students receive the certainty they need as they begin a career in pharmacy”.