Turnout for the RPS English Pharmacy Board election has fallen by a third this year, from 11.8% to 7.9%, as five candidates were elected to the country's board this week.
RPS president, Professor Claire Anderson, called the drop in turnout to the election on Tuesday (10 May) ‘disappointing’ but said an independent review – announced on the same day – from consultancy Luther Pendragon will look into member participation and communications.
Out of a total of 19,512 eligible individuals, only 1,534 voted in this election.
New board members will take up their roles at the first day of the next board meeting for their country (8 June in Scotland, 21 June in England and 22 June in Wales).
Elections were not run in Scotland and Wales as candidates ran unopposed.
Professor Anderson continued: ‘I’m delighted to welcome our new board members across Great Britain and look forward to working with them to champion the profession and put pharmacy at the forefront of healthcare.
‘I’d like to say a big thank you to all the candidates who stood and were not elected for their courage in putting themselves forward and contributing to the debate.’
‘I’d also like to personally thank RPS English Pharmacy Board (EPB) member Andre Yeung for all his hard work in his additional role as RPS treasurer.’
Mr Yeung will continue to serve as treasurer until the next EPB meeting, and the RPS Assembly will elect a new treasurer in July. In the interim, the RPS president will carry out any necessary functions of the role.
The following candidates were elected:
English Pharmacy Board
Ewan Maule
Brendon Jiang
Sharon ‘Sibby’ Buckle
Emma Boxer
Adebayo Adegbite
Scottish Pharmacy Board – elected unopposed
Joshua Miller
Richard Shearer
Jill Swan
Welsh Pharmacy Board – elected unopposed
Liz Hallett
The remaining two Welsh Pharmacy Board positions were unfilled.
Less than 8% participation is not "disappointing", it is shocking. An eligible membership to vote of less than 20K pharmacists out of 72k (source Google) shows most pharmacists no longer consider the RPS as relevant. In effect circa 2% of pharmacists are interested in the work and direction of what was once our professional body. Radical rethink of role needed.
How can they pretend to be representatives of pharmacists?- No mandate at all. Totally not relevant to the working lives of most pharmacists. I cannot understand the influence RPSGB thinks it has over pharmacy when even a minor director of a major multiple has much much more impact on the vast majority of pharmacists' working life. The decline of the RSPGB is obvious to all to see- no royal college, senior staff redundancies, and the outlook is worst than bleak.
What are pharmacists getting for their membership?
How long is it before they are looking to downsize from their current residence?
Sinking ship with no clear path forward and elections haven't added any belief the society can alter this