A new pharmacy school is being planned to launch for the 2026/27 academic year at the University of Suffolk.

A university spokesperson said it was in “the early stages of seeking to develop a Pharmacy degree, working through the seven-stage accreditation process with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)”.

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They added that if accreditation is successful, the university plans “to commence with 40 students” for its first intake in 2026.

The university say it’s developing the degree as the launch of Pharmacy First means there is an “urgent need to grow the workforce”, adding the “NHS Long term workforce plan indicates that education and training places for pharmacists need to grow by 31–55% to meet the demand for pharmacy services by 2030-31”.

It also referenced the 2022 community pharmacy workforce survey which “showed 77% of those surveyed in Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System (ICS) and 73% of those surveyed in Norfolk and Waveney ICS reported it ‘very difficult’ to recruit pharmacists registered with the GPhC, compared to a national ICS rate of 65%”.

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“Our MPharm students will enhance a strong health portfolio with around 2,000 other undergraduate and postgraduate students, giving multiple opportunities for inter-professional and integrated care learning,” it added.

The university aim to complete stage 2 of the accreditation process in July 2025, with hopes to hear back from the GPhC in autumn 2025 ahead of students choosing their options of where to study for the following academic year.

A Head of Pharmacy role at the University of Suffolk was open to applications this summer as plans to begin the accreditation process started, with the university spokesperson confirming it is “in the middle of the recruitment process” for that role.

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On the potential new pharmacy school, the GPhC told C+D this week that it doesn’t “disclose information regarding expressions on interest in accreditation of programmes” and will “publish information once a university formally engages with the accreditation step process and an accreditation team has made a recommendation which has been ratified by the Registrar”.

The Pharmacy Schools Council (PhSC) said it “is not contacted by prospective schools until they are through the early step GPhC accreditation visits”.

University updates

It comes after Bangor University announced in July plans to offer an “exciting and relevant” MPharm degree from 2025, with opportunities to practise in the Welsh language. 

And the University of Sheffield announced in September that it would open its new pharmacy school to students in September 2025.

C+D reported in August the PhSC called for academic pharmacy to be “more attractive” so it can deal with an increase of 1500 pharmacy students by 2031, as work needs to be done to “address the current salary disparities between HEIs and the external workplace”.

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Aston University’s pharmacy school unveiled its £3.3 million pharmacy training laboratory in September that includes a “state-of-the-art” facility with a main lab that can accommodate 83 students, an asepsis suite and a technician prep room.

And Cardiff University was Great Britain’s most successful pharmacy school for summer 2024, after 93% of its first-time candidates passed the June registration assessment followed by the Universities of Birmingham (92%), Strathclyde (91%), Nottingham (89%) and Sunderland (also 89%) as the five leading pharmacy schools for this year’s summer sitting.