NHS England announce changes to 2026/27 Foundation Pharmacist training

NHS England has announced that multi-sector rotations during the 2026/27 Foundation Pharmacist Training Programme will not now be mandatory.

Multi-sector rotations involve at least 13 weeks of training in a different area of pharmacy practice to the one the trainee is based in. Following the publication of the General Pharmaceutical Council’s Standards for Initial Education and Training of Pharmacists (2021), NHS England mandated that multi-sector rotations would be required for all trainees starting in the 2026/27 training year.

However, mindful of the current pressures faced by pharmacy teams and the broader healthcare sector and to support pharmacy teams in continuing to deliver high quality training, NHS England has decided that mandatory rotations will be delayed and a phased approach will instead be implemented.

Read more about this in NHS England’s letter announcing the change