By Sadie Pinkney, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer’s Clinical Fellow 2024/25 at the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE)

Transforming pharmacy culture takes visionary leaders, committed teams, and brave conversations. Creating an inclusive pharmacy workforce isn’t just morally right - it directly impacts patient safety, staff wellbeing, and the quality of care. When our workforce reflects the communities and diverse perspectives shape our decisions, care improves. But embedding inclusion into everyday practice can feel overwhelming.

Leading Inclusive Pharmacy Practice in the North West

In October 2024, I was appointed to lead Inclusive Pharmacy Practice (IPP) across the North West as part of the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer’s (CPhO) national IPP delivery plan. Transitioning from frontline clinical roles to regional leadership and system improvement has been transformative, both professionally and personally.

From the outset, I’ve worked alongside Dr Devina Halsall, Karen Adams, and Steve Simpson — original members of the North West IPP Steering Group — whose leadership and commitment to equity have shaped this work.

Our shared goal? To co-produce a practical, evidence-informed resource that empowers pharmacy teams to embed inclusion in everyday practice and leadership. That resource became the North West IPP Toolkit.

Building a collaborative steering group

Sustainable change requires collective leadership. To provide strategic direction and oversight, Devina and I established the North West IPP Steering Group. Karen Adams and Steve Simpson, both Chief Pharmacists,helped bridge strategic ambition with real-world implementation. Devina’s role as Deputy Chief Pharmacist for the North West Region and co-chair of the NHS England Strategic Advisory Group on Race Equality brought invaluable insight.

The group has grown to 18 members, representing hospital, community, primary care, academia, commissioning, and health and justice roles. It’s become a safe space for reflective learning, respectful challenge and shared problem-solving.

Together, we:

• Champion equity, diversity, and belonging
• Guide toolkit implementation and evolution
• Share good practice and foster peer support
• Align regional work with national priorities

This collective leadership is vital for embedding inclusion as a core part of pharmacy culture -not an optional extra.

A co-production approach

The toolkit was developed collaboratively, with input from pharmacy leaders and staff across the region. Voices of minoritised colleagues and those with lived experience were central to shaping its content.

It builds on the  South West IPP Manifesto and aligns with national priorities from the CPhO,NHS England’s EDI Improvement Plan, the North West BAME Assembly Anti-Racist Framework, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA).

The result is a practical resource featuring 50 recommended initiatives across five core principles:

The toolkit also includes a progress tracker and executive summaryto help organisations self-assess, identify gaps, and plan strategically. Each initiative has a suggested timeline, adaptable to local needs.

Measuring impact and progress

In April 2025, through the North West Chief Pharmacists Network, we established a regional baseline. Of 31 Trusts, 18 responded - with implementation ranging from 65% of initiatives in some Trusts to just 6% in others. Crucially, every Trust planned to implement more, with 29% of initiatives marked as “not yet but intend to implement.”

Since the toolkit’s early consultation in November 2024, 64 new initiatives have been introduced spanning 32 types — demonstrating strong leadership commitment and early signs of cultural shift.

We’ll re-collect data in November 2025 to measure progress and maintain momentum. Beyond numbers, we’re gathering staff testimonials to capture shifts in confidence, bias-challenging and inclusive leadership visibility.

Reflections

Leading this work has been a transformational journey. It’s deepened my understanding of systemic barriers and reinforced the power of collaboration to drive cultural change.

But this is just the beginning. We want more pharmacy teams to use the toolkit, share their experiences and join our growing community of practice.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed and supported this journey. Together, we’re building a more inclusive pharmacy profession that better reflects and serves our diverse communities.

The toolkit, executive summary and progress tracker are now live and available here.

Inclusive Pharmacy Practice Week

Inclusive Pharmacy Practice Week runs from 24–27 November with eight virtual workshops on leadership, healthcare delivery and education. Open to all pharmacy professionals across sectors and career stages. Find out more. 

On Wednesday 26 November, 12:30–13:45, we’re hosting a session with the GPhC focused on on closing gaps in differential attainment and awarding - register for the session.