PharmaPlay: Immersive learning for patient-facing roles

The UK’s community pharmacy sector employs around 78,000 staff, including approximately 30,000 medicines counter assistants (MCAs) and dispensing assistants (DAs). Despite their frontline role in patient care, these workers face high vacancy rates, ranging from 3% to 11%. Many come from socially disadvantaged areas and have minimal academic qualifications, making traditional, text-heavy Continuing Professional Development (CPD) inaccessible. This contributes to poor staff retention, limited career progression, and a workforce ill-equipped for evolving service demands like Pharmacy First.

This project will develop an interactive CPD course on the ELELearn platform and its mobile app, focused on the NHS Pharmacy First service. Using serious game design and AI-powered patient chatbots, the course will teach essential skills such as triage, prioritisation, service delivery, and communication through realistic, scenario-based simulations. Designed for mobile access, it ensures flexible learning for a workforce with limited digital access or time.

By making training accessible, immersive, and directly relevant, the project aims to boost learner confidence, improve job satisfaction, and support better patient outcomes. By aligning with clear workforce needs, this initiative has the potential to transform vocational learning in community pharmacy by addressing real-world challenges with a practical, learner-centred solution.