2014/15 pan-London planned commissioning position: maintain commissions at 190

1. PRE-REGISTRATION TRAINEE PHARMACISTS 2014/15 pan-London planned commissioning position: maintain commissions at 190 Planning for this profession is led by Health Education North West London for the whole of London. Existing and raised issues The distribution of pre-registration pharmacy trainee places is administered by London Pharmacy Education and Training (LPET). In 2012 evidence suggested maintaining commissioning levels would meet the needs of the service, creating a safe supply of qualified pharmacists in 2014/15. The majority of data sources individually and directly supported this decision. LPET data show the vacancy rate for pharmacists across London as 7.4% overall on 31st May 2013, with a 4.8% 3 month vacancy rate (LPET staffing survey 2013 figures). LPET data on pre-registration pharmacist recruitment intentions shows a slight increase in demand for trainees, with one SL Trust and three NCEL Trusts requesting one additional trainee each. Community pharmacy is not fully covered by the current planning process, as workforce forecast data is collected only for the managed sector. HEE has instigated a project to collect community pharmacy workforce data; the outcomes of this work are expected in 2014-15. HEFCE and HEE consulted stakeholders in late 2013 on how to address the significant projected oversupply of pre-registration pharmacists. Possible approaches included capping undergraduate course numbers or creating a break point in the MPharm course. The outcome of this consultation is due to be announced in February 2014. • Rationale for decision • Workforce demand data shows a slight reduction in demand for qualified pharmacists over the next five years. Vacancy rates are still relatively high. In the absence of conclusive data from the community sector the decision was made to maintain commissions at 190. • Decisions on numbers of pre-registration trainee pharmacists have historically been made using a combination of NHS London (now HEE) workforce forecasting information, and information on current state (staffing, vacancies, recruitment intentions, etc.) from LPET. The methodology for using these pieces of information and community pharmacy data in future should be considered. 1.6% reduction in demand over 5 years