NHS England is funding 3,300 places on independent prescribing courses for pharmacists for 2025/26, it has announced.

Applications for the training courses – which are available until March 2026 – are open across several universities throughout England, with different intake start dates available.

The funded independent prescribing courses are available to community pharmacists including locums, health and justice pharmacists, employed general practice pharmacists who are not eligible for, or enrolled on, the CPPE Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway and those in primary care who are not employed in additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS) positions.

According to NHS England, the training will ‘enable the provision of new models of care’ by ‘supporting patients from diagnosis to prescribing, providing advice and follow-up, and preparing pharmacists to provide clinical care, as pharmacy services become more widespread within emerging clinical pathways’.

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Successful applicants to one of the approved universities will be allocated a fully-funded place directly by the university. Course length and the number of face-to-face days required vary between universities.

The news comes as all pharmacists will qualify as independent prescribers from 2026.

One in three pharmacists in Great Britain are now independent prescribers, according to recent data from the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

As of 31 March 2025, the total number of pharmacists on the register was 65,776, up by 2.2% (1,383) from 64,393 at the same time last year.

Elen Jones, director of pharmacy at RPS, said enabling more pharmacists to train as prescribers would ‘allow pharmacists to play a more active role in patient care and contribute to more efficient and integrated care’, especially due to increasing pressures across the health service and patient needs becoming more complex.

She added that: ‘Protected learning time and sustained investment in designated prescribing practitioners are essential to the success of these programmes – both to meet current training needs and the development of future prescribers.’ Concerns have been raised over the last year around a lack of designated prescribing practitioners (DPPs) – required to support students from 2025/26 onwards.

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Concerns have been raised over the last year around a lack of designated prescribing practitioners (DPPs) – required to support students from 2025/26 onwards.

Dr Graham Stretch, president of the Primary Care Pharmacy Association (PCPA), said that the funding was welcome but overdue and did not include any funding for DPPs.

‘It’s great news that there is more funding available, particularly for locums and employed GP pharmacists,’ he told The Pharmacist.

‘There are plenty of people who wish to access the training, which will help, but they will have to consider funding a DPP.

‘I’m pleased that it’s come through and recommend getting applications in as soon as possible as courses quickly fill up.’

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Eligible pharmacists considering an application will also need to have (as a minimum):

  • The support of an identified DPP
  • An appropriate practice-based learning environment in a prescribing setting that can offer appropriate clinical support
  • Evidence that you meet the course provider eligibility criteria (applicants will be subject to their chosen university’s enrolment processes).
  • Commitment to use the skill within your area of competence and expertise, for the delivery of NHS clinical services as they emerge. Pharmacists must be working in England.