NHS England has released £1.5m in funding to three London universities to help them coordinate an expansion of placements for undergraduate MPharm students in the capital. 

The project will see Kingston University, University College London and King’s College London work together to “standardise and expand” pharmacy undergraduate placements in London, including the introduction of more “experimental placement sites” such as care homes and mental health trusts as well as community pharmacies and GP surgeries.

Kingston University said the project will help students “undertake the increased weeks of placements and become prescriber ready,” adding: “The greater capacity of placement providers will help to make sure all three universities can liaise with their teaching and placement timetables so students aren’t competing for the same providers at the same time. 

“This will allow students to get a greater breadth of vital first-hand experience and increase knowledge and clinical skills, helping London benefit from highly skilled and highly trained pharmacists.”

The university added that the use of electronic portfolios will enable students’ 55 learning outcomes to be “signed off by supervisors in a more efficient, sustainable and streamlined way” and give patients greater access to their portfolio versus the current paper logbook model.

“In addition, all three universities are providing training to supervisors at all placement providers to ensure that every student is assessed in a consistent and unified way,” the university said.

“Much of the project will be completed and in place for the start of the 2024-25 academic year,” it added.