Education & Training Standards Summary Page

The Education & Training Standards for Registered Pharmacy Professionals working in Cancer Services document has been developed to ensure that there is a baseline standard for training for all pharmacy staff within the UK who verify SACT prescriptions or discuss treatment with cancer patients. This guidance applies to parenteral and oral administration of SACT and encompasses the BOPA digital SACT Verification Passport.

For more information please see:

  • For BOPA Education & Training Standards for Registered Pharmacy Professionals working in Cancer Services click here
  • For BOPA Standards for the Pharmacy Verification of Prescriptions for Cancer Medicines click here
  • For the BOPA digital SACT verification passport HUB click here

 

Principles for all

All Registered Pharmacy Professionals working in a pharmacy department that has SACT patients treated at their hospital must be trained to one of the following levels.

Note: Each Registered Pharmacy Professional may be at a different level for each of the areas within cancer services, e.g oncology, haematology, paediatric, haematology service level 2b/3, BMT (including paediatrics), CAR-T or clinical trials

 

Level One: For any Pharmacy Professionals who may come across SACT in their normal job, such as dispensary technicians, assistants and aseptics staff.

Level Two: For all Registered Pharmacy Professionals involved in verification of SACT prescriptions. This is further split (if required by organisation) into:

  • Level 2a: Registered Pharmacy Professionals who can validate simple SACT prescriptions as defined and agreed by local SACT governance processes and policy. E.g. oral SACT such as hydroxycarbamide, imatinib, or flat dosed SACT which is usually well tolerated. Most pharmacy technician SACT verification is expected to be undertaken within this level of practice.
  • Level 2b: validate all SACT excluding cycle 1
  • Level 2c: validate all SACT including cycle 1

For the BOPA digital SACT verification passport click here

Level Three: For specialist cancer pharmacists.
e.g, who are the cancer pharmacy lead at their site, write and/or approve protocols, have a national role or are highly specialised in a cancer area.

Level Four: For highly specialist cancer pharmacists.
e.g, who are national leaders within their profession. Consultant level pharmacist posts with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society would also fit in this level.