Prescriber training for physios specialising in cystic fibrosis

Supporting learning and prescribing for physios

Physiotherapists gained independent prescribing rights in 2013; the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) data from April records more than 2,500 independent physiotherapist prescribers across the UK.

Supporting our members with advice and guidance on medicines and prescribing issues is part of our work at the CSP and connects with many of our strategic aims.

This year the CSP is working with a number of professional networks to better understand the opportunities for prescribing expansion. 

This should facilitate optimisation of physiotherapists’ capabilities in the workplace within these respective specialities.

The Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Cystic Fibrosis (ACPCF) is one of the networks with which the CSP has a long-established working relationship. 

ACPCF has a dedicated prescribers’ sub-group – the ACPCF-IP – which is open to ACPCF members who are already prescribers or undertaking their training. Its executive team work hard to support and develop their members, including an innovative way to support members to become prescribers.  

Funding opportunity   

The ACPCF-IP offers funding to enable one of its members each year to undertake an accredited Higher Education Institution (HEI) non-medical prescribing programme. The initiative was started by Adam Walsh, a former treasurer of ACPCF, who undertook a funding consultation as part of work to offer a wider range of educational offerings to ACPCF membership.  

‘We undertook a consultation with our membership to survey what educational opportunities they valued and what they would like to see added to our portfolio,’ Adam explains.

‘The support from a consortium of partners has enabled access to independent prescribing training that we could not have funded from within our usual educational funding streams.

‘The educational funding has been ring-fenced to fund one person per year for three years initially. At year two, we plan to review progress and if the uptake continues to be positive, then we will re-start consultation to secure funding for the coming years.’  

Supporting members with prescribing

ACPCF-IP’s twice yearly study days support continued professional development (CPD) specific to CF, including prescribing, and enable members to network, share knowledge and experience. The ACPCF-IP has grown from 11 members in 2015 to 45 members today, recognising the importance of physiotherapy prescribing in CF care.  

The CSP works closely with the ACPCF-IP to support and contribute to their CPD programme, and to collaborate on the promotion of independent prescribing.  

By widening the opportunities to access funding for prescribing training and offering a specific prescribing subgroup for support and CPD, ACPCF-IP is helping to raise the profile of its members and promote prescribing ability as a valuable asset for physiotherapists to hold. 

Hannah Day, chair of ACPCF-IP, says: ‘Working with the CSP allows us to promote and enable more collaboration of physiotherapists nationally. ACPCF members also have access to funding opportunities and the ability to collaborate with projects and research within cystic fibrosis.’ 

Innovation  

ACPCF-IP has shown innovation in embedding prescribing capability as an aspiration to its members into physiotherapy practice in CF care, supporting its members to train and offering a specific branch of the network for its prescribers.   

CSP professional adviser Rachael Wadlow says: ‘We welcome the funding opportunities provided by ACPCF to widen access to prescribing qualifications for physiotherapists in CF care and value working collaboratively with the network to promote independent prescribing practice for physiotherapists.

‘We hope to broaden this collaboration with other professionals networks whose clinical specialities lend themselves to prescribing.’

Julie Blackburn, CSP professional network professional adviser, adds:

Our recognised professional networks are a vital and key part of providing support, clinical expertise and CPD to members – and this is an excellent initiative.