RPS Annual Review 2023

A message from RPS President Professor Claire Anderson and CEO Paul Bennett

It’s a privilege for us, as the President and the CEO of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, to welcome you to our annual look back at some of our highlights of 2023.

First, we’d like to thank all our members for all that you do for patients and the profession. It would be remiss of us not to also thank the staff at RPS for their hard work throughout the year, and for putting so much effort and dedication into making RPS what it is today – your professional leadership body.

We’d also like to thank our many thousands of members across Britain and around the world, who come to us for guidance, for information, for support and for leadership in pharmacy. With your backing, we’ve continually earned influence and recognition to increase the vital respect and trust in pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists and the profession.

As you’ll read below, 2023 was a banner year for our collaboration with other bodies. We’ve worked with charities, Royal Colleges, government, NGOs and businesses across the country, partnering on multiple projects, all of which have helped make healthcare more effective, efficient, and sustainable. In 2024, we hope that these joint ventures, such as our agreements with the College of Mental Health Pharmacy and Pharmacist Support, will not only continue, but flourish.

Our knowledge business, Pharmaceutical Press has gone from strength to strength, bringing many updates to our trusted reference sources right to your fingertips, with new additions to MedicinesComplete such as the Psychotropic Drug Directory.

Patient safety was at the front of many minds in 2023, not least because of accelerating growth in the numbers of pharmacists prescribing. With all newly registered pharmacists being able to prescribe from summer 2026 and many more already registered developing their competency to prescribe, this was the perfect time for us to invest in this exciting – but also challenging – new role for so many of our members. 2023 saw the launch of a dedicated Prescribing section on our website, and we’re continually updating and enhancing all our education and guidance materials for pharmacists to match the demands of the profession in the 21st century and enhance patient care.

And it’s not just prescribing: throughout 2023 we made great strides in our recognition of progress and achievement in the profession through Assessment & Credentialing. We continue to work towards a formal structure that recognises, assists, and rewards dedication and ambition amongst pharmacists.

We also relaunched some of our honours and medals for unique achievements by pharmacists, and created two new awards, which were presented for the first time at our fully subscribed Annual Conference in November. It was great to see so many of you there at our free-to -attend annual event. The key-note speech by Jon Amaechi was a stand-out moment for both of us and for the attendees who heard him speak so passionately about confronting racism and dealing with uncomfortable truths.

Through 2024 and beyond there will, likely, be considerable challenges for all of us, but by working together, prioritising professional leadership, patient safety, and building professional capability we are confident that pharmacy will yet again demonstrate its importance and potential in healthcare.

Thank you again for taking the time to read this year's Annual Review, and for your continued support of the RPS and our profession.

2023 in numbers...

January, February, March

RPS joined with other pharmacy organisations to call for reassurance that the 2023 NHS workforce plan, would cover the entirety of the pharmacy workforce across the health service, including in community pharmacy. READ MORE

The timely publication in January of our Workforce Wellbeing survey, run in partnership with Pharmacist Support, showed that 88% of pharmacists who responded said they were at high risk of burnout, and 73% had considered leaving their role. In response, we called for workforce planning for pharmacy to address skill mix and staffing levels so that workloads could be managed effectively. READ MORE

And we also raised concerns to set out how pharmacy teams can help do more to tackle health inequalities in a new position paper. READ MORE

After authoring the initial long-term vision for Pharmacy in Wales in 2019 and the 2022 update, RPS Wales accepted a request from the Welsh Pharmaceutical Committee to take over administration of the Pharmacy: Delivering a Healthier Wales Delivery Board and working groups, and published a new website for the long-term vision for pharmacy in Wales. READ MORE

RPS was upgraded to achieve as a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer, enabling us to improve employment opportunities for people with a disability. READ MORE

Pharmaceutical Press, RPS’s knowledge business, launched the Drug Compatibility Checker, a new product exclusive to MedicinesComplete that focuses on making informed drug compatibility decisions easier, thereby reducing the risks associated with injectable drug therapy. READ MORE

Laura Wilson was appointed RPS Director for Scotland. READ MORE

The RPS England team were in Parliament with Taiwo Owatemi MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pharmacy, for the launch of the new Future of Pharmacy report. READ MORE

RPS Wales highlights the developing role of prescribing pharmacists to Members of the Welsh Senedd. READ MORE

Medicines, Ethics and Practice (MEP) entered the digital age, moving from a once-a-year print edition to digital version, which means the MEP is now easily searchable and constantly updated – and that environmental impacts are reduced. READ MORE

In answer to the call for responses, we submitted our initial response to the Commission on Pharmacy Professional Leadership. READ MORE

Following RPS’s independent review into membership participation and communication, we commissioned a full review of our constitution and supporting governance structures. READ MORE

RPS continued to play an active part in the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, signing up to a list of ten commitments to mitigate and adapt to climate change, READ MORE

We used LGBT+ History Month as a platform to seek donations that increased diversity in our Museum collection.

We called on employers, governments and NHS organisations to provide pharmacists with regular protected learning time to develop their skills in clinical delivery, education, research and leadership. READ MORE

In early March, we took an important step in creating a clear postgraduate career structure for pharmacists in England, by collaborating with HEE and CPPE on a pathway to advanced pharmacist practice recognition. READ MORE

RPS condemned the prescription price increases in England, and called for the ‘outdated and complex’ system to be abolished. READ MORE

We re-joined the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), after listening to calls from members for us to do so. READ MORE

We launched a new award, named in memory of Daniel Thomas, a pharmacist who died during the First World War in 1917. The award is open to any RPS member who died while actively practising and is our official honour recognising such dedicated service to pharmacy. READ MORE

Our support for teams and patients during Ramadan, including taking medicines, fasting guidance, BIMA Clinical Guidelines, webinars, and case studies – invaluable for providing advice for fasting patients.

July, August, September

July was the 75th anniversary of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). RPS joined with other health professional leadership bodies across the UK in wishing the much-beloved service a happy three-quarter century. RPS President Professor Claire Anderson said: "Pharmacists and their teams are evolving as never before, and I’m so proud of everything the profession has achieved over the past 75 years." READ MORE

The RPS’s Laura Wilson and RPS board member Thorrun Govind were on TV and radio, highlighting the dangers of selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs), and explaining why we were calling for the laws to be tightened around the selling of SARMs. READ MORE

At the RPS Assembly, Professor Claire Anderson was re-elected for a further two years as President, with Alisdair Jones confirmed as the new RPS Treasurer. The RPS also backed the MHRA consultation on codeine linctus. READ MORE

We announced the winner of our new Outstanding Pharmacy Early-career Researcher Award (OPERA) Award. After eight months, 25 nominations for 19 individuals, more than 30 hours of deliberation, nearly five hours of interviews and several hundred emails, the winner was Stephen Kelly, lecturer in pharmaceutical microbiomics at Queen’s University Belfast. We also announced a ‘highly commended’ accolade, which went to Victoria Speed, senior anticoagulation pharmacist and clinical informatician at King’s College Hospital and the University of Oxford. The OPERA Award will be awarded again in 2024. READ MORE

James Davies, Director for England, was in the news, commenting on the Health Select Committee Expert Panel report on Pharmacy. He referred to the report as "..a wake-up call for the Government, highlighting that improvement is required to meet many of its commitments to patients through pharmacy.” He went on to say that, “Due to their prime location in communities, and pressures on other NHS services, demand for community pharmacy services has increased significantly. However, many are struggling to deliver services, or even to remain open, within the existing funding." READ MORE

The RPS appointed its first Deputy Chief Scientist: Dr Diane Ashiru-Oredope, MPharm DipClinPharm MPH PhD PFPH FRPharmS FFRPS (consultant), working alongside RPS Chief Scientist, Professor Parastou Donyai. Dr Diane Ashiru-Oredope said, “I look forward to working alongside Professor Donyai and fostering strong collaborations with pharmacy colleagues, RPS members and stakeholders.” READ MORE

In August, RPS published the final report on the future of supervision in community pharmacy, from the Pharmacy Supervision Practice Group, convened by RPS and including members from organisations from across community pharmacy. After nine collaborative discussions, the group made recommendations on subjects that will provide a framework on which the Department of and Social Care and regulators can draft revisions to legislation and regulatory standards. READ MORE

AI seemed to be everywhere in 2023 - not least in pharmacy. In August, The PJ had a special report on AI chatbots in pharmacy: a brave new world or looming threat? The report asked how this technology was likely to impact the world of pharmacy. READ MORE

The RPS’s commitment to sustainability and tackling climate change continued when alongside our partners in the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, an alliance of UK-based health organisations representing about one million health professionals, we called on the Prime Minister to withdraw the decision to approve new licences for oil and gas in the North Sea. READ MORE

As part of South Asian Heritage Month we celebrated the history and contribution of Britain’s South Asian communities. RPS worked with the Female Pharmacy Leaders Network, Pharmacy Technicians of Colour, APTUK, British Pharmaceutical Students' Association and The Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists to profile and celebrate British South Asian pharmacy professionals, including hosting the Stories to Tell event at our London office, celebrating and highlighting inspiring British South Asian role models who have made a difference both in pharmacy and wider society.

Laura Wilson, RPS Director for Scotland, in response to the announcement that drug related deaths in Scotland in 2022 had reached 1,051 - the lowest level for five years, but still far too high - called for RPS’ policy recommendations on reducing drug related deaths in Scotland to be implemented. READ MORE

RPS announced a new Policy and Practice Lead for RPS Scotland, Fiona McIntyre, who has a background in hospital pharmacy. Fiona will lead policy development and professional support for RPS Scotland, represent pharmacists on working groups and at meetings, engage with pharmacists and pharmacy organisations, and support the RPS Director for Scotland. She will also take a GB-wide lead on specific projects, working alongside the Policy and Practice Leads in England and Wales. READ MORE

RPS’s knowledge business, Pharmaceutical Press, announced the launch of BNF 86 and the new BNFC. Both are the first choice in healthcare for concise medicines' information: independent and with rigorous, accredited content creation processes.

Tase Oputu, RPS England Board Chair, welcomed Community Pharmacy England 's (CPE) launch of their new vision on 19 September. The new vision "..sets out a roadmap for the Government and the NHS to help maximise community pharmacy’s role to support patient care," said Tase. READ MORE

The RPS Wales review, Prescribing progress: Transforming clinical hospital pharmacy in Wales for enhanced patient care, was published on 21 September 2023, and the Welsh Government accepted all of its 36 recommendations, including on patient-centred care, prescribing, technology use, and workforce development. READ MORE

Six new Fellows and Consultants were recognised at a celebratory event at RPS Scotland in September. Four were formally awarded with Fellowships of RPS for distinction in the practice of pharmacy, and two more were accredited as consultant pharmacists. READ MORE

RPS England called for the Government to give pharmacy students access to a financial support scheme, the same as other health professions. The joint call came from the British Pharmaceutical Students' Association (BPSA) and Pharmacy Schools Council. READ MORE

To coincide with the Senedd’s Health and Social Care Committee inquiry into chronic conditions management, RPS Wales hosted a session at the Senedd where politicians were able to meet our team and expert members in respiratory diseases and Parkinson’s to discuss pharmacy’s role in this area of care. READ MORE

To celebrate World Pharmacy Day, RPS worked with the Chair of the Welsh Senedd’s Health Committee on a statement celebrating pharmacy’s expert role within the health service and urging the Welsh Government to support pharmacy in Wales to the full. READ MORE

RPS gave a statement to the preliminary hearing of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry. The statement highlighted the vital role of pharmacists and pharmacy teams during the pandemic, and set out key issues for the panel to consider. READ MORE

As part of Pharmacy: Delivering a Healthier Wales, the first 2030 Vision Conference was held in Cardiff. The conference brought together all the pharmacy professions and highlighted innovative practice from teams all over Wales. READ MORE
RPS Wales Chair, Geraldine McCaffrey, addressed the conference and later shared her ambitions for the profession with the Pharmaceutical Journal.

The very first Pharmacy Workforce Race Equality Standard (PWRES) was published by NHS England. The standard provides greater transparency about representation in senior leadership in the NHS pharmacy professions and workforce, and will gather evidence about racism, discrimination and inequality in career progression in the NHS pharmacy workforce. Chair of RPS’ English Pharmacy Board, Tase Oputu, called it, “a welcome and profoundly important call to action for the NHS.” READ MORE

At the end of September, RPS President Claire Anderson was at FIP Congress 2023 in Brisbane, Australia. FIP represents 154 organisations, academic institutions, and individuals - in total, more than four million pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists. READ MORE