Pharmacies can join a Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) pilot study from its Cybersecurity Unit to explore the benefits of ‘enhanced’ cybersecurity support.
The pilot is being delivered in collaboration with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and Community Pharmacy England (CPE), and follows a recent sector-wide cyber survey, ‘which highlighted the need for greater support’, according to CPE.
Related Article: Supply notification issued for chronic pain patches
Pharmacy teams taking part in the pilot will receive a structured support package and will ‘help shape a future model for sector-wide cybersecurity support’.
Participating pharmacies will also be able to access free digital NCSC tools and resources; build confidence in identifying, responding to and reporting cyber incidents; and raise awareness of common cyber threats and their impact on pharmacy operations.
Related Article: Call to embed community pharmacists in multidisciplinary palliative care teams
Community pharmacy teams are encouraged to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) by 28 June 2025.
In 2023, the then Conservative Government and NHS England set out a cyber security strategy to 2030, aiming to improve cyber resilience across health and social care systems, including adult social care, primary care, secondary care and the critical supply chain.
The aim is for all health and social care organisations to achieve cyber resilience no later than 2030.
Related Article: NHS provision for weight loss jabs ‘unlikely’ to meet demand, warn pharmacy bodies
Have your say
Please add your comment in the box below. You can include links, but HTML is not permitted. Please note that comments are not moderated before publication and the views expressed are those of the user and do not reflect the views of The Pharmacist. Remember that submission of comments is governed by our Terms and Conditions. You can also read our full guidelines on article comments here – but please be aware that you are legally liable for any libellous or offensive comments that you make. If you have a complaint about a comment or are concerned that a comment breaches our terms and conditions, please use the ‘Report this comment’ function to alert our web team.