Fair funding for pharmacy students long write to your MP campaign tool

The tool below is to help PDA members write to their MP and petition for pharmacy students in England to be included in the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF).

Enter your postcode to find your MPs email address. Use the postcode for where you are registered to vote.
Click ‘email’ below your MP’s name. This will open a new email to your MP.
Click copy message to clipboard and paste into your new email.
Fill in the blanks and add your own reason for supporting the PDA’s NHS LSF campaign. Make sure all the information is accurate, remember to include your name and address at the end.
Remember to be polite and concise when talking to your MP.
Hit send.

If you are not a pharmacy student, you can also edit this email to make it relevant for you.

To:

Subject:

Message

Dear {MP NAME},

My name is {NAME} and I am a {pharmacist, pharmacy trainee or pharmacy student} in your constituency.

Pharmacists are a vital part of the healthcare service across the NHS, delivering pharmaceutical care and helping the public to maintain and improve their health, safety and wellbeing in communities, hospitals, GP practices, and elsewhere.

I was disappointed to learn that students studying on Masters of Pharmacy (MPharm) courses in England have not been included in the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF), a decision which does not support NHS England’s workforce plans to meet public need.

The NHS Long-term Workforce Plan published earlier this year includes an objective to expand training places for pharmacists by 29% to around 4,300 by 2028/29, putting the NHS on the path to increasing training places by around half overall to almost 5,000 by 2031/32. This is a challenging target, especially as pharmacists are currently included in the government’s Shortage Occupation List (SOL).

Given the government and NHS plans require a sustainable pipeline of pharmacists, it is unclear why our profession has been excluded from the NHS LSF which was created to help secure a continued workforce supply in future years.

As a pharmacy student, I am committed to working and studying for five years to develop the skills and knowledge to provide quality pharmaceutical care to patients. I should be supported whilst I train and gain professional registration in line with the support available for other future healthcare professionals.

{OPTIONALLY ADD ANY KEY REASONS WHY YOU BELIEVE PHARMACY STUDENTS SHOULD BE INCLUDED, INCLUDING PERSONAL REASONS IE. HOW FAR WILL YOU TRAVEL FOR YOUR PLACEMENTS, AND WHAT WILL IT COST YOU? WHAT CONTRIBUTIONS WILL YOU MAKE TO HEALTHCARE ONCE YOU JOIN THE REGISTER?}

I ask that you do what you can to have MPharm students added to the list of healthcare students eligible for the fund. This is not just important to me and my peers, but to the delivery of the government’s own objectives.

Please do keep me informed of any progress made. I request that you escalate my letter to Andrew Stephenson MP, Minister for Health, at your earliest convenience.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

{YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS}

Copy message to clipboard

Fair funding for pharmacy students long write to your MP campaign tool

November 2, 2023 The PDA

Sending, please wait.

Sorry the email was not sent, please try sending it again and make sure you've entered in your email correctly.

Your email has been sent! Thank you for taking part in the campaign.

News & Publications

Special Features

Head Office

Key Information

Let’s Stay Connected

Follow us on social media

Cookie Use

Fair funding for pharmacy students long write to your MP campaign tool

November 2, 2023 The PDA

Sending, please wait.

Sorry the email was not sent, please try sending it again and make sure you've entered in your email correctly.

Your email has been sent! Thank you for taking part in the campaign.

News & Publications

Special Features

Head Office

Key Information

Let’s Stay Connected

Follow us on social media

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter

Cookie Use