Pharmacists should be given 10% of their hours as protected learning time, the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (GHP) has suggested in a new national campaign.

Speaking to The Pharmacist, GHP primary care chair Laura Buckley said there was ‘significant’ variation in pharmacist access to protected learning time in GP practices and primary care networks (PCNs) across the country.

The GHP campaign seeks to standardise the approach ‘so that all pharmacists have equal opportunities to grow’, she said.

The organisation has said it believes ‘there is a strongly justifiable argument for a minimum of 10% of contracted hours to be protected for SPA [Supporting Professional Activities]’.

‘This is to reflect the increase in professional responsibilities such as supervising junior colleagues with their prescribing, supporting undergraduate students, postgraduate education requirements, portfolio development, professional credentialing, and much more,’ the GHP added.

It said it believed 10% to be ‘within the scope of trusts/health boards/employers to grant this time to pharmacists’ and suggested there were other professions where 10% or greater was allowed.

Ms Buckley told The Pharmacist that this call came in the context of ‘an evolving climate in pharmacy’, with all new trainees to qualify as prescribers at the point of registration from next year.

‘There is an increased requirement to supervise and develop pharmacists,’ Ms Buckley said.

‘Not only do we need to do CPD ourselves to develop ourselves, we also need to support others in developing their knowledge and their skills,’ she added.

Ms Buckley said employers would also see the benefits of allowing pharmacists to have protected development time.

‘Pharmacists can then upskill, that will mean that they can support more activities, and they can do more clinically in their roles, and it will broaden the scope for practice,' she added.

'A business or a practice that prioritises its staff and its workforce and the development of its workforce will likely find that its workforce will generally feel more positive in role and will be more confident. And I think offering pharmacists protected learning time will certainly be positive for staff retention over a long period of time.'

And she said that allowing time for learning during contracted work hours would take pressure off trying to fit it in around other commitments and responsibilities, such as caring for children or home life.

The GHP campaign seeks to encourage pharmacists to ‘open up discussions in their workplace’ around protected learning time, and find out what was happening in other PCNs locally, Ms Buckley added.

She pointed to the GHP website where pharmacists could find resources to support this.

A recent Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) workforce wellbeing survey found that 68% of general practice respondents felt they were offered sufficient protected learning time, compared to 35% of respondents working in community pharmacy and 44% in hospital pharmacy.

And a recent Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) survey found that 65% of pharmacist respondents across all settings said they received no protected time (or additional payment if outside of work hours) to complete the training necessary to deliver the service. But 97% said they thought this was necessary.