All pharmacy team members have been asked to feed into a vision and common purpose for pharmacy professional leadership.
A series of webinars will run throughout February, organised by the UK Pharmacy Professional Leadership Advisory Board (UKPPLAB).
They will be hosted in partnership with various representative bodies, but pharmacy team members do not need to be part of any particular association to join, and all webinars are open to everyone.
Participants will be asked to share their views on a proposed vision for the board, including on:
- Unified and inclusive leadership
- Supporting collaboration
- Advocacy and public awareness
- Embracing advancements in practice
- Driving forward education, innovation and research
The board said that it wanted to ensure this vision was 'meaningful to everyone working in pharmacy across the UK'.
This feedback will then be considered by the board in March 2025 and a final, updated vision and common purpose will be published in summer 2025.
Joan Saddler, chair of the UKPPLAB Patient and Public Reference Group, said she saw the upcoming webinars 'as an opportunity to capture a wide range of views'.
'At a time of significant planned change, where care and support closer to home will become increasingly important for patients and the public, the role of leaders working with and through communities will become even more important to patients and the public,' she said.
'Pharmacy leaders can help communities access services more quickly in ways that meet the needs of different communities.'
And she told pharmacy team members: 'It's important that we hear everyone’s views. Please get involved, we need to hear from you.'
Graham Stretch, president of the Primary Care Pharmacy Association (PCPA), said he had heard from pharmacists in different settings about 'a disconnect between pharmacy leadership organisations and their working lives'.
'We must ensure we co-design meaningful leadership and representative organisations that offer practical and accessible support for pharmacy professionals throughout their working lives,' he said.
And he said the UKPPLAB 'provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to catalyse real and lasting changes to pharmacy leadership across all four nations in the UK'.
Karen Shuker, president of the College of Mental Health Pharmacy, said the engagement was 'a rare opportunity to input your views into a shared, unified and collaborative voice for UK pharmacy with the aim of directly improved outcomes for patients'.
Meanwhile, Claire Anderson, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), said: 'Professional leadership strengthens the entire pharmacy ecosystem, and this draft vision and common purpose for pharmacy professional leadership, which has been developed by members of the UKPPLAB Board working closely together, demonstrates the importance of open and effective collaboration. More collaborative leadership for pharmacy is something that will benefit our organisations today and shape the landscape for years to come.'
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