About Us  >  History

The legislative base for NICPPET derives from the 1972 HPSS (NI) Order. Following this legislative and support by DHSS, the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland and the Department of Pharmacy at Queen’s University began to organise refresher courses for Pharmacists.

During the 1970’s the provision of postgraduate pharmacy education and training was expanded and in the 1982 the NI Committee for Postgraduate Pharmaceutical Education and Training was established. A planning group was set up in 1983 to report on more strategic measures for educational provision and this paved the way for the establishment of the NI Centre for Postgraduate Pharmaceutical Education and Training, with its first Director, Dr Norman Morrow, appointed in October 1986.

The later 80’s saw a more marked extension of the education and training programme, stimulated in part by the Nuffield report. On aspect of this extension was the development of a distance learning programme. The first distance learning course - Care for the Elderly - was published in 1990. This was the first of many such courses, which continue to be used throughout the UK and beyond.

The 1990’s saw further expansion with the appointment of Dr Colin Adair in 1992 as Assistant Director, who undertook the initial development of computer-based learning. In 1995 a Senior Management review recommended the relocation of the centre from DHSS to the School of Pharmacy at Queens. Following this relocation in 1996 Dr Terry Maguire was appointed Director in 1997 and continued until 2001. The centre’s international standing was recognised in 2000 when it hosted the 4th International Conference on Lifelong Learning in Pharmacy.

In 2002 Dr Colin Adair became Director, and this was followed by the appointment of two Assistant Directors – Dr Heather Bell (Live programme) and Fran Lloyd (distance learning). At the same time, the centre’s remit was extended to include pharmacy technicians, this aspect being coordinated by Julie Jordan. The centre’s role continued to expand with the provision of training in areas such as non-medical prescribing, leadership and other specialised courses. In 2008 Laura O’Loan was appointment as Assistant Director for vocational programmes, with the responsibility of developing a vocational training programme for new hospital pharmacists.

With agreement of DHSSPSNI and the NI Committee for Postgraduate Pharmaceutical Education and Training, the Centre officially changed its name in July 2008 to the NI Centre for Pharmacy Learning and Development.