1 Min In Member News
The Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK) and the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) welcome the Government's reconfirmation of their intention to explore the inclusion of pharmacy technicians on the list of healthcare professionals able to administer vaccinations under a patient group direction (PGD).
Pharmacy technicians are already a hugely valuable part of the community pharmacy team. They have played a vital role in the set up of pharmacy-based vaccination centres across England this year. However, outdated legislation limits their potential in supporting the national drive to vaccinate the population. Growing the professional role of pharmacy technicians is a key step in meeting the challenges that the NHS faces. We support pharmacy technicians being able to administer vaccinations under a PGD, as part of their important role within the pharmacy team. Allowing technicians to do much more will help boost capacity in community pharmacy and also enhance the attractiveness of the technician role.
Liz Fidler, President of APTUK said: “Community Pharmacy Technicians have been integral to delivering core pharmacy services during the most challenging of times. Working with pharmacists and pharmacy teams they have been able to use their skills and knowledge as another registered pharmacy professional but could be enabled to do more. This much needed legislation change will enable the profession to deliver more patient focussed services and enable the pharmacy workforce to continue to provide the response so greatly needed at this time. This will also provide recognition and a much-needed career pathway in a sector that can provide the very best care for patients and communities. Community pharmacy technicians are ready and should be enabled to do more.”
Malcolm Harrison, CEO of the CCA said: "Community pharmacy has already administered 15m Covid-19 vaccinations so far and stand ready to help turbo-charge the roll-out of the booster. Through a small technical legal change, one more barrier to a successful Covid-19 booster programme could be eliminated and would help enhance community pharmacy capacity in the short-term. We also support wider efforts to evolve the role of the pharmacy technicians, enabling them to take on additional roles which would enable pharmacists to deliver further clinical services."
