With general practices and primary care networks (PCNs) now able to employ pharmacist trainees, and multi-sector training placements mandatory from 2027/28, pharmacist and president of the Primary Care Pharmacy Association Graham Stretch shares why pharmacists working in general practice or a PCN should consider hosting a trainee - and how you can get your employers and local partners on board.

Many pharmacists are curious about the opportunities available to host foundation trainee pharmacists in their practice or Primary Care Network (PCN).

As pharmacy professionals become more established in general practice and PCNs — now with an estimated  over 11,000 pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working in GP practices and PCNs in England (NHSE figures to Dec 2024) — it is natural that we should establish robust training, recruitment, and retention pathways and work towards ‘growing our own’. Hosting trainees in your practice exposes them to the valuable work that pharmacy professionals have successfully carried out for more than a decade.

But what about the return on investment? What will trainees contribute to your practice? And how can you persuade your clinical director and partners that this is a worthwhile investment of time and resources?

At my practice, Argyle Surgery in Ealing, West London, we have hosted over 85 trainees in the past decade. They have provided an enormous amount of capacity, and after a relatively short period of intensive supervision, they quickly deliver a return on investment.

We have done this jointly with local community pharmacies, who have acted as the employer. In partnering with the surgery they have a 100% fill rate on ORIEL, the national recruitment programme. In addition, from July 2025 the trainees will have access to an active prescribing environment (pharmacists prescribe more than 200,000 items a year) and designated prescribing practitioner (DPP) for their 90 hours of supervision. Community joint trainees currently rotate between pharmacy, GP and our care home service on a weekly basis. Additionally, we partner with London North West NHS Trust providing three and six month rotations.

What can trainee pharmacists in general practice do?

Each day, our trainees manage a face-to-face appointment lists at the practice, seeing patients for reviews, for example, when they are diagnosed with a high-risk of diabetes (non-diabetic hyperglycaemia). They discuss the significance of blood test results, measure blood pressure, and provide lifestyle counselling following structured templates. They also conduct NHS Health Checks for patients who have had blood tests in advance, again using standardised templates. The same applies to maintenance reviews for asthma and COPD, among other conditions.

Trainees have a key role in maximising QOF payments, ensuring 100% return on domains – AF, CHD, HYP, STIA, AST, COPD, DEP, CKD, EP, CHOL, DM, SMOK, NDH, MH within their scope of practice under supervision.

On SystmOne, trainees have a daily list of tasks often running into hundreds, which may include follow-up calls where medicines have been started or altered, adhering to monitoring protocols — for example, for blood pressure medications or diabetes treatments such as SGLT2 inhibitors.

Additionally, they handle a significant volume of medication-related queries, such as when a parent at the pharmacy finds their child’s prescribed medication is out of stock. Trainees are well-placed to manage these high-demand high-frequency queries, relieving pressure on reception teams who often struggle to allocate such tasks to medical or nursing colleagues who previously actioned them. Instead, trainees build their consultation skills working with community colleagues and patients, while applying their pharmaceutical expertise. Trainees also assist with administration of immunisations, influenza, Covid, RSV and Shingles, for example.

Each trainee also undertakes an audit, aligning with practice needs — whether related to CQC inspections, incentive payments (e.g. from the IIF, QIPP etc), anti-microbial stewardship or other quality improvement initiatives. These audits frequently arise from critical incidents, contributing to the governance and safety of the practice. A number have led to awards and presentations at conferences.

Trainees play a key role in repeat prescribing and medication monitoring, gaining experience in interpreting blood tests, managing high-risk medications, reconciling hospital discharge summaries, and liaising with community pharmacies. The structured protocols and templates they engage with provide valuable learning opportunities while ensuring a safe and effective prescribing process.

Changes to pharmacist training: GP and multi-sector placements

With the introduction of new Initial Education and Training Standards for Pharmacists, MPharm students now receive more clinical experience as part of their initial training, making them better prepared to contribute in practice. As we know, prescribing will be integrated into the foundation year from July 2025. General practice and PCNs are ideally positioned to provide this 90-hour supervised prescribing experience. The best training models involve partnerships with community pharmacies and hospitals, ensuring trainees gain well-rounded exposure. A GP practice alone cannot deliver all learning outcomes, particularly dispensing experience, so collaboration is essential.

Following regulatory changes, general practice can now be the lead employer for foundation trainees. This allows practices to access a training grant of £26,500. While practices must pay at least the minimum wage, meaning the grant does not fully cover employment costs, foundation trainees still offer excellent value for money given their contribution to workload. From July 2025 our practice will employ eight trainees and second them to community and hospital, with a further six employed by community pharmacy enjoying six months of GP and care home experience.

What do placement providers need to offer?

Regulations require each trainee to have:

  • A Designated Supervisor (DS) responsible for overseeing training throughout the year and signing off progress.
  • A Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP), which can be any active prescriber with suitable experience. Previously, a two-year post-qualification requirement applied, but this has now been replaced with an experience-based assessment.

These two roles can be held by the same pharmacist, provided they have at least three years of sector experience for the DS role. Whilst this initially does require an investment of time and resource, after four to six weeks the trainees return on that investment becoming more autonomous as their training progresses. Naturally, robust supervision, protocols and checks need to be introduced and delivered.

Trainees will also require adequate workspace, including:

  • A desk, computer, and access to SystmOne/EMIS
  • Consultation rooms sessionally for face-to-face patient interactions

Long-term benefits for recruitment and retention

In my practice, all the pharmacists that we currently employ have been recruited from our trainee programme. These pharmacists:

  • Understand practice processes
  • Have strong relationships with staff and partners
  • Are fully prepared to transition into foundation pharmacist roles

Offering trainees opportunities for career progression — such as moving into advanced practice roles or supervising future trainees — also improves recruitment and retention.

On a personal level, providing the next generation of pharmacists with opportunities to learn and develop is incredibly rewarding. Watching them apply their knowledge in practice, gain confidence, and grow professionally is a source of immense job satisfaction.

Here's how to get involved

To host a pharmacist trainee, you will need to register for the Oriel process, which centralises recruitment for university graduates. The application deadline is 1 March for trainees starting in July 2026.

By investing in foundation trainees, you not only contribute to the profession’s future but also enhance your practice’s capacity, efficiency, and long-term workforce stability.