Newly Qualified CPIP Employee Pharmacists
Published: 16th July 2026
Congratulations to everyone who has recently passed their IP Courses. Well done!
Once you have had the chance to celebrate, here are some details for next steps.
The Universities will confirm your qualification with the GPhC
You need to contact the GPhC to arrange to arrange annotation and pay the relevant fees.
Contact the Community Pharmacy Lead at your NHS Board. Details can be found at Community Pharmacy – A hub for all information relating to community pharmacy
They will order your Rx Pads; these are printed on a 6 week cycle for all new prescribers (one week CP, one optom etc) so depending on where the cycle is, the Rx can take up to 8 weeks to arrive. Please be patient - we know you want your Rx asap. Ways to speed this up have been investigated, but there is no immediate, faster solution.
They will also let you know of local arrangements and requirements for sign off; these are Board specific and form part of the Board Governance of the service. This has to be completed before you can start delivering the service.
Let the relevant people in the pharmacy where you work know, so any specific arrangements they have can get underway. If your pharmacy does not already offer the service, once you are ready to start delivering, the sign up to the service needs to be completed. The details can be found in this circular - Primary and Community Care Directorate (squarespace.com)
If you have any questions, please contact us on enquiries@cps.scot
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Congratulations! Your university will confirm your qualification with the GPhC, but you will need to contact the GPhC yourself to arrange annotation and pay the relevant fees. Once that is underway, you should contact the Community Pharmacy Lead at your NHS Board to begin the next steps.
Rx pads are printed on a six week cycle covering all new prescribers, including community pharmacists, optometrists and others. Depending on where the cycle is when you apply, this can mean a wait of up to eight weeks. We know this can feel like a long time when you are keen to get started, and while ways to speed this up have been looked into, there is currently no faster route available.
Your NHS Board will let you know the local arrangements and sign off requirements, which vary by Board and form part of their governance of the service. This sign off must be completed before you can begin. You should also let the relevant people at your pharmacy know, so any arrangements on their end can get underway. If your pharmacy does not already offer the service, sign up will need to be completed first.
Our colleagues at the GPhC Inspectorate have asked us to pass on a friendly reminder as to the procedures required for Community Pharmacies to appropriately deal with Private Prescriptions for Controlled Drugs.