Pharmacy support staff play a key role in ensuring the safe delivery of pharmacy services, so unsurprisingly the General Pharmaceutical Council is tasked with ensuring everyone working in pharmacies, including non-registered support staff, have the necessary skills and knowledge, and are competent to perform their assigned roles.

The GPhC guideline Requirements for the education and training of pharmacy support staff advises that all pharmacy support staff:

• Need to understand how their role contributes to person centred care and effective collaboration with patients, members of the wider pharmacy or healthcare team, and the public, and be able to carry out their role in a way that maintains trust in pharmacy services.
• Should have skills appropriate for the activities they perform and the setting in which they work.

These requirements directly align with the GPhC Standards for registered pharmacies, which require that staff:

• Have the appropriate skills, qualifications and competence for their role and the tasks they carry out or are working under the supervision of another person while they are in training (standard 2.2).

Enrolment and completion deadlines

What this means is that someone employed in a pharmacy, either full time or part-time, must be enrolled on a training course as soon as practicably possible, and at the latest within 3 months of starting their role.

And the course must be completed promptly, normally within 3 years.

This applies to people involved in:

• All stages of the dispensing or supply of medicines and medical devices to individuals.
• Advising individuals about the use of medicines and medical devices.
• Assisting pharmacy professionals to provide pharmacy services.

So, when we consider the roles performed by staff members, that really means anyone working in a pharmacy who has any patient interaction.

The GPhC requires an appropriate minimum level of knowledge and competence for pharmacy support staff: either Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) level 2, or Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) level 5, previously NVQ Level 2 Pharmacy Services.

These are national frameworks which define the different levels of knowledge which an employer can expect from staff. These courses can be delivered either as a regulated qualification or by a course accredited by the GPhC. Mediapharm pharmacy support staff courses are accredited by the GPhC.

Exemptions

There are of course some exemptions from this requirement. Pharmacy students undertaking MPharm degrees, those on the Overseas Pharmacist Assessment Programme (OSPAP), trainee pharmacists, and pre-registration trainee pharmacy technicians. This allows them to work as support staff without further training.

However, the supervising pharmacist must check the competency of the student or trainee and act on any learning needs that they identify. While it is not necessary, in most cases, completing an accredited MCA and or DA programme ensures peace of mind that competence has been achieved.

Accredited courses

Providers of accredited course providers must meet exacting standards and undergo a rigorous reassessment process every 4 years to ensure their courses remain fit for purpose. So, you can be assured of the quality of accredited courses and that they meet your needs, as well as the GPhC’s criteria.

At Mediapharm we have provided accredited training for 20 years and 1000s of pharmacy staff have successfully completed our courses.

We can help support you to develop your pharmacy team no matter whether they are starting out (take a look at our pharmacy induction programme, and medicines counter assistant course) or extending their role (our dispensing assistant, or accuracy checking assistant courses may be just what you need).

Consider how you can upskill your staff to take on new roles and responsibilities which free up your time. Not only might this help improve the efficiency in your pharmacy leaving you more time to provide for clinical services, but it can significantly improve job satisfaction for your team members too.

Ongoing support

We recognise that training doesn’t stop once a qualification is achieved, so in addition we provide a comprehensive library of e-learning courses covering a range of conditions, soft skills, pharmacy services, and much more.

You can assign courses to your team members or allow them to enrol on courses while you supervise and monitor their progress. Our Mediapharm individual training record provides an overview of courses taken and performance in assessments. It also supplies evidence to comply with GPhC standards, ticking off a few boxes on the GPhC inspections list.

Why not subscribe now and reap the benefits for you and your team.