The Royal Pharmaceutical Society will run a series of online workshops from next month to help community pharmacists improve face-to-face and remote discussions with patients who have been referred to the community pharmacist consultation service.

The continued professional development workshops, which are free, will be run by the RPS in tandem with Health Education England and the Royal College of GPs and will also help pharmacists improve their lines of communication with GPs.

The RPS said the workshops will allow pharmacists to “refresh and update their practical clinical assessment and examination skills” and "understand how the NHS CPCS sits alongside urgent care, general practice and the wider NHS healthcare system".

The professional leadership body also said pharmacists will be able to “learn new ways of working as part of the primary care network multidisciplinary team” through the workshops which will run six days a week.

“It will be facilitated pharmacists and delivered by advanced clinical practitioners and GPs and is funded by the NHS through Health Education England,” the RPS said.

English pharmacy board chair Claire Anderson said: “These online workshops are a hugely exciting next step for the pharmacy workforce.

“We really welcome this collaboration which will benefit the skills of our expert, flexible network of community pharmacists and further strengthen the close working relationship between general practice and pharmacy."