Minor Illness training for Clinical Pharmacists (funded)

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Training Hub have been able to source funding to support a limited number of Clinical Pharmacists by funding minor illness training and qualification.

CPTH will fund the cost of the National Minor Illness Centre (NMIC) Clinical Skills 3 day training course plus the Diploma qualification (for those who do not already hold Advanced Skills in Clinical Assessment qualification). The course and qualification costs £1,390, which we will be able to reimburse on successful completion.

For those that are Independent Prescribers and already have hold an Advanced Skills in Clinical Assessment qualification, you may only need to complete the 3 day NMIC Clinical Skills course. This course costs £670 of which we will be able to reimburse on successful completion.

Please note that you will not be reimbursed if you do not follow the ‘Securing Funding and apply’ process below.

For more information on the course and upcoming start dates, please see the NMIC website for:

Diploma: NMIC – Six Month Diploma Course (minorillness.co.uk)

Clinical Skills: NMIC – Clinical Skills (minorillness.co.uk)

The three-day Clinical Skills course includes access to a pre-course e-learning module which covers all the relevant examination techniques. Attendance at this course will give you a grounding in the basic skills, but it will not, on its own, equip you to run an acute illness service. In order to be recognised as competent to run such a service in the eyes of CQC and your indemnity provider you will need to obtain a recognised qualification.

To gain a recognised qualification, after completing this face to face course you would undertake one further NMIC online module in evidence-based practice (2 hours), submit five assignments and complete 105 hours of supervised practice in your place of work to complete the diploma qualification. You would need to find a mentor who will supervise you and sign off your Manual of Clinical Competencies. The mentor could be a GP or Minor Illness Specialist Clinician with at least two years’ experience who also holds a mentoring qualification.

The NMIC Diploma must be completed within twelve months.

Both the training / qualification offers include: a copy of the textbook, The Minor Illness Manual, 6th edition (2024), a USB stick with documents uploaded and six months free access to the members’ section of the NMIC website.

Criteria for funding:

To be eligible to attend a funded course, programme of study or to be allocated funding, individual learners must:

• Be employed by a Cambridgeshire or Peterborough General Practice
• Ensure the course aligns with the needs of the Practice / Primary Care Network (PCN) and is relevant to their role
• Have approval of their line manager to attend the education or training

The Training Hub try to fund all education and training where it is clearly relevant to the individual learners role.  Where there are more applications than funding available, there will be a process of prioritisation.  If this situation should arise, all those affected will be informed of the process of prioritisation and a plan will be made to address unmet funding requirements as part of this process.

Process to secure funding and apply:

1. Complete an Application for Funding / Learning Contract and return to email: candptraininghub@nhs.net.
2. The Training Hub will review and respond to your funding request. If funding is approved, it will be your responsibility to book your place on the course you wish to attend, we will provide the instructions to do this.

Please note that full payment will need to be made by the individual attending the course or their employer and once the course has been completed, an invoice (along with evidence of attendance) can be sent to the Training hub (candptraininghub@nhs.net) for reimbursement.