Health Education England is seeking bids from course providers to deliver up to 3,011 training places to help pharmacists qualify as independent prescribers.

In a tender published on April 20, HEE said the successful bidder for the contract – which is valued at between £6m and £13m – will provide places on GPhC-accredited IP courses between September 1 of this year and March 31 next year.

There will be an “opportunity to deliver additional activity in year 2 until March 2024” as HEE plans to award a contract “with an optional one-year extension”.

The contract will provide funded course places for pharmacists in the categories: those who are currently deployed as part of the Additional Roles Reimbursment Scheme and are enrolled on the Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway; community pharmacists and other pharmacists eligible for training under the Pharmacy Integration Programme; and pharmacists working in NHS managed settings such as hospitals.

HEE added: “There is an expectation that enrolment should be available for courses starting in September 2022.

“Multiple intake points for courses are desirable, and students may be enrolled into new courses up to the end date of the contract, with 'teaching out' permitted after this.”

This follows the announcement in January of 327 funded places on IP courses being made available to pharmacists, including 143 places on courses looking at ‘clinically enhanced’ independent prescribing provision (CEPIP), which combines the core GPhC course with “enhanced clinical content” including content on assessments and diagnosis.