HEE launches North School of Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation

The North School of Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation was officially launched on 17 April 2018 with 163 stakeholders attending an event at the Hilton Hotel, Leeds. Stakeholders included pharmacists and pharmacy technicians (primary and secondary care), clinical directors, nurses, medicine optimisation leads, public health and engagement leads and pharmacy lecturers from across the north west, north east and Yorkshire and the Humber.

The programme included keynote speakers Mr Bruce Warner, Deputy Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, NHS England and Mr David Wilkinson, Postgraduate Dean for Health Education England (HEE) working across Yorkshire and the Humber.

Staff who work with medicines were asked to submit a project they wanted to showcase. Eleven chosen projects, a mixture of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, were invited to present their project to share an understanding of some of the great work going on across the north and to highlight the many success stories that investment in training and development makes to patients and communities.

The day ended with delegates dividing into four breakout groups to participate in simultaneous workshop to discuss the school’s key workstreams.

The new school led by Professor Christopher Cutts aims to develop medicines optimisation skills among healthcare workers involved in prescribing, dispensing or administering medicines. The school’s strategic plan for 2018–2021 includes the co-ordination of existing education and training infrastructure — for example, the preregistration pharmacy technician training scheme, foundation vocational-based training programmes, advanced practice development for pharmacy, and the commissioning of new training programmes.

Christopher Cutts, Pharmacy Dean, said:

It’s multifaceted, we will commission new programmes — the school is not a provider. There’ll be courses, new educational leadership posts, new associate dean posts to lead areas of practice, and also an infrastructure of training programme directors at regional level that we can co-ordinate and support. It will emulate some of the features you find in medical and dental training.

The school will work collaboratively with other bodies including the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education, sustainability and transformation partnerships, professional regulators, and further and higher education institutions.