The incoming Royal College of Pharmacy needs to offer something that 'excites' and 'interests' pharmacists who are not currently members of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), chief pharmaceutical officer (CPhO) for England David Webb has suggested.

The recent vote was an 'important first step' with the membership who participated giving 'a clear signal around moving forward for the concept of a royal college', he told delegates at the Sigma 2025 conference via video link.

'For me, that's the starting point, that is not the end of the conversation,' Mr Webb said.

It was revealed in March that some 4,369 RPS members had voted to in favour of the proposed changes to the RPS Royal Charter that would see it begin the journey of becoming a royal college.

These members made up the majority of the 6,144 voters from a total of 19,594 eligible members and so the vote was passed.

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'I think it's really important that a college doesn't satisfy those people who are in membership currently, but that what it constructs is perceived by people who are not currently members to be of value and helpful to them, and something that they feel inherently that they want to be part of,' Mr Webb told Sigma delegates.

'So I think building from where we are now to an offer that excites people and interests them and they perceive why they want to be part of this endeavour is really important.'

And he stressed the importance of appealing to those 'at the start of their career' as well as those who had been pharmacists for a long time.

The professional leadership offered by a royal college should also encapsulate 'excellence and quality deployed for patient benefit', added Mr Webb.

And he said such qualities were 'the business of a royal college', rather than of a regulator or other organisation.

Also speaking at the session, Alison Strath, CPhO for Scotland, suggested that 'a royal college that provides that home for professional development, that really gives that opportunity for peer to peer discussion and support, that allows... lifelong learning to be captured and supported, is what we all need'.

And amid changes to pharmacist training that will see all new registrants enter the profession as prescribers from 2026, she suggested that 'the time is right' for a body to support the profession's professional development.

'Other than doctors and dentists, we will be the first professional group to qualify as prescribers. The opportunity is there and it's now for us to all come in and make it work,' she said.

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And commenting on the low engagement with the recent royal college vote – in which just a third of RPS members voted – Ms Strath said: 'My view is: build and they will come.'

Also joining delegates via video link this week (13 May), Duncan Rudkin, chief executive of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), said the functions of a regulator and a royal college were different and that the GPhC supported the creation of the Royal College of Pharmacy.

'A thriving and successful set of professional leadership arrangements is one of the hallmarks of a successful profession,' he said.

And he suggested this was of particular importance among a rapidly changing health care profession, so that government, commissioners, and the public, could 'see that that profession is is well led'.

The RPS has recently announced that it will be offering a professional liability insurance policy, exclusively available to eligible members and included within the membership fee – although members can choose to opt out of the insurance if they wish.

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RPS president Professor Claire Anderson said: ‘With the creation of the Royal College of Pharmacy, our ambition is to support all pharmacists to deliver excellence in patient care and to move closer to our vision of the safe and effective use of medicines to the benefit of patients and the public.

‘The future college will build on our existing work in setting professional standards, supporting lifelong learning and creating a home for professional development that is relevant to all.’

She said the organisation welcomed the support shown by the CPhOs, ‘which reflects a shared commitment across the UK to strengthen professional leadership and invest in the future of the profession’.