A consultation in Wales is seeking views on a primary care workforce plan for the country that includes increasing the number of pre-registration training placements for practice pharmacists.

Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) and the Strategic Programme for Primary Care (SPPC) have outlined ‘key actions’ contained within the Strategic Workforce Plan for Primary Care in Wales, with the consultation process aiming to gather views on how the proposals can be taken forward.

One of the plan’s aims is to develop the future workforce by expanding education and training provision in primary care.

This involves increasing pre-registration training placements for pharmacists, nurses, allied health professionals and other professionals, as well as ‘embedding changes in pharmacy initial education and training requirements’.

Other proposals include increasing the number of independent prescribers in primary care across all settings, developing a programme to support professionals supervising others, and increasing the number of apprenticeships in primary health services and expanding the number of people recruited through the apprenticeship route.

Elen Jones, director for Wales at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), described the plan to increase pre-registration training placement for pharmacists in primary care as ‘a positive step’.

Ms Jones said: ‘The foundation pharmacist training year in Wales is already an integrated programme consisting of hospital, community and primary care experience.

‘Training across sectors enhances opportunities, supports the growth of the pharmacy workforce, and ultimately benefits patient care.’

Ms Jones added that the plan supports RPS’ own vision for pharmacy in Wales, ‘ensuring that pharmacy professionals will be able to utilise their expertise and knowledge wherever the patients’ needs them and moving care closer to home’.

The Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) and the Strategic Programme for Primary Care (SPPC) consultation closes on 6 October.