NHS priorities

Whether it’s to prepare for the next Pharmacy Quality Scheme deadline, or to increase your confidence in helping people with a learning disability, this section provides topic-specific pages that link to current NHS priorities. This section will support you in keeping your knowledge and skills up to date in order to provide high-quality pharmacy services and be service-ready.

Clinical pharmacy

Our clinical portfolio is expanding on a frequent basis, helping you to advance your knowledge and skills and deliver medicines optimisation in practice for all sectors of pharmacy. From two new focal points a year to our small group learning for hospital pharmacists – Optimise – this section focuses on clinical pharmacy, diseases and therapeutics.

Public health

The public health agenda is embedded in pharmacy, yet topics such as emergency contraception or stop smoking support are as prevalent as ever. As well as our public health workshops, use this section to access a wide range of resources to assure and maintain your competence, all underpinned by the Declaration of Competence system.

Primary care pharmacy education pathway

CPPE is commissioned by Health Education England to deliver training to pharmacy professionals working in primary care as part of the primary care Network Contract Directed Enhanced Service (DES). We have developed the Primary care pharmacy education pathway to align the education requirements of the pharmacists and pharmacy technicians with the NHS Long Term Plan and the primary care Network Contract Directed Enhanced Service.

This pathway builds on the success of the Clinical pharmacists in general practice education and the Medicines optimisation in care homes pathways and will equip pharmacists and pharmacy technicians with the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to work in various patient-facing roles in primary care networks as part of a multidisciplinary team. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians will be able to access a range of different study methods to suit different learning styles, a continuous assessment process and support from supervisors and peers. The pathway is 18-months for pharmacists and 15-months for pharmacy technicians.

Pharmacy professionals who are already enrolled on the Clinical pharmacists in general practice education or the medicines optimisation in care homes pathway will continue with this but any new applicants employed through the primary care Network Contract Directed Enhanced Service will join the Primary care pharmacy education pathway.

The education pathway is outlined below.



For further information please refer to the FAQ document.

Contact primarycare@cppe.ac.uk if you cannot find the answers to your question on the Primary care pharmacy education pathway pages.

If you work in primary care but are not eligible for the Primary care pharmacy education pathway CPPE has a wide range of learning in the portfolio. You can download an information sheet here.