Independent Prescribing in the Foundation Year: DPPs, 90 Hours and Sign-off

Most foundation trainees in England now train as independent prescribers. How the DPP role works, what counts towards the 90 hours, the prescribing activities and who signs off what.

By Umar Majid · 9 Nov 2026

Since 2025/26, most foundation trainee pharmacists in England have trained against the full GPhC learning outcomes, which include independent prescribing. That means at least 90 hours of supervised, prescribing-related learning, overseen by a designated prescribing practitioner (DPP), with prescribing activities signed off in the e-portfolio. Trainees who complete it join the register able to prescribe.

What follows is for trainees, designated supervisors and pharmacy owners in England.

Am I on the prescribing pathway?

Pathway	Who it applies to	Prescribing?
Full learning outcomes	Most trainees who graduated against the 2021 GPhC standards	Yes, includes independent prescribing
Interim learning outcomes	Trainees who graduated against the 2011 standards, and OSPAP graduates	No

Your e-portfolio is set up for one pathway or the other. If you're not sure which you're on, ask your designated supervisor or your NHS England regional team.

Who does what?

Your designated supervisor (DS) oversees the whole training year and makes the final sign-off decision on the GPhC learning outcomes.

Your designated prescribing practitioner (DPP) is a prescriber who oversees the 90 hours of prescribing-related learning and signs off the prescribing activities.

Practice supervisors are other healthcare professionals who can supervise you and give feedback, including during your prescribing learning.

The DS and DPP can be the same person if they meet both sets of requirements. In that case, another prescriber must contribute to the trainee's assessment.

How do the 90 hours work?

You need at least 90 hours of learning focused on developing and demonstrating the skills of a prescribing practitioner. The DPP must have oversight of the 90 hours but doesn't have to directly supervise all of it. They can delegate to other suitably qualified members of the healthcare team.

The hours are logged in the e-portfolio. The log includes the time spent on the prescribing assessment activities and any other learning you and your DPP agree. They don't need to be one block, either. You can spread them across the year, such as one day a week over a rotation.

The Pharmaceutical Journal has published real examples. One had 30 hours with the DPP and 60 hours with other prescribers in secondary care. Another was split roughly half with the DPP and half with others.

Choosing your nominated prescribing area

Each trainee works towards competence in a nominated prescribing area. It has to be an area where the DPP is knowledgeable, skilled and experienced enough to supervise, and where you have access to patients in that clinical area, under the DPP's supervision, in a prescribing learning setting.

Choose it early, and choose something realistic for your setting. A narrow, well-supervised area is better than an ambitious one you can't get access to.

What are the prescribing assessment activities?

Alongside the usual observed clinical activities, trainees on the full learning outcomes complete prescribing activities supervised by a DPP. These include:

history taking
physical and clinical examination skills
prescribing consultation
prescription writing
the log of 90 hours

There's also a final prescribing development review before final sign-off. The DPP signs off the prescribing activities and the DS signs off the learning outcomes.

A simple plan for trainees

When	What to do
First month	Meet your DPP. Agree your nominated prescribing area and learning agreement. Make sure DPP details are in the e-portfolio.
By week 13	Start logging prescribing hours. Plan when most of your 90 hours will happen.
Weeks 13 to 26	Complete early prescribing activities, such as history taking and examination skills.
Weeks 26 to 39	Prescribing consultations and prescription writing. Review your hours log with your DPP.
Before final sign-off	Final prescribing development review. Check the hours log is complete and signed.

Don't leave prescribing until after the GPhC exam in June. Final sign-off can happen from week 49, and many trainees run out of time.

Pharmacy owners: how do you find a DPP?

For community pharmacy, DPP access is the biggest practical challenge. As of February 2026, more than 400 of the 2,417 trainees who needed a DPP in 2025/26 did not have one assigned.

Employers are using a few routes. Some have an in-house prescriber, such as a pharmacist independent prescriber in the business. Others arrange a rotation into general practice or hospital where a DPP is available, set up reciprocal arrangements with another employer, or use external DPP programmes. Some of those are run by local community pharmacy committees and charge per trainee.

Whichever you choose, confirm DPP access before you commit places on Oriel, and record the DPP in the e-portfolio as soon as the trainee starts.

Designated supervisors: working with the DPP

Meet the DPP early and agree who's doing what. Build prescribing time into the training plan from the start, rather than treating it as extra. Check the hours log at every progress review, not just at the end. And remember that the prescribing activities sit alongside the other learning outcomes, not instead of them.

Common questions

Do all foundation trainees train as prescribers? Most trainees in England who graduated against the 2021 standards are on the full learning outcomes, which include prescribing. Trainees on the interim learning outcomes, including OSPAP graduates, aren't.

Does the DPP have to supervise all 90 hours? No. The DPP needs oversight of the 90 hours but can delegate supervision to other appropriately qualified healthcare professionals.

Can my designated supervisor also be my DPP? Yes, if they meet the requirements for both roles. Another prescriber then has to contribute to your assessment.

Who signs off prescribing? The DPP signs off the prescribing activities, and the DS makes the final sign-off decision on the learning outcomes.

What if my pharmacy can't find a DPP? Look at rotations, reciprocal arrangements or external DPP programmes, and talk to your NHS England regional team early.

Support for the whole training team

Pre-Reg Shortcuts supports trainees, supervisors and prescribers. Trainees get structured GPhC revision and e-portfolio support, including help planning evidence and prescribing activities around their rota. Designated supervisors and prescribers get practical guidance on supervision and sign-off.

Read about the Foundation Pharmacist Training Programme, see all our options or email info@preregshortcuts.com to talk about support for your training sites.