Beginning our work on a collaborative future direction

By Sir Hugh Taylor, Independent Chair of the UK Pharmacy Professional Leadership Advisory Board

Since our first meeting in April, Board members have been working in short-life groups to explore the five themes of the UK Commission on Pharmacy Professional Leadership’s report.

The overarching theme from the meeting, and the main takeaway for me, was the central importance of collaboration. For our Board’s work to be a success, and to really benefit patients, the public and pharmacy professionals, a close working relationship between the different PLBs and SPGs is essential. These organisations are much stronger together and this combined voice reflects the richness and diversity of pharmacy professional leadership.

We kicked off our second meeting in July with a discussion about professional and regulatory standards which looked at how we can strengthen clinical practice and support professionals to achieve their potential. An ongoing theme of our work is the value and importance of collaboration both within the pharmacy professions and with other healthcare professions. One independent expert member (IEM) commented on how the professional leadership body (PLB) and specialist professional group (SPG) Board members could work more closely together to identify gaps in the current guidance. Another IEM talked about the importance of professional leadership in maintaining high quality care and patient safety as the clinical role of pharmacy professionals develops – most recently with pharmacy technicians being able to work under patient group directions. What came across to me was the need for greater facilitation of governance linking the pharmacy regulators with professional bodies. The role of our Board is to support these organisations in helping to ensure that professional standards reflect and keep pace with the ongoing changes in pharmacy practice and the needs of health services and patients.

Next, we turned to the central topic of professional education and training. PLBs and SPGs play a crucial role in education and training – and we discussed how pharmacy professionals who are not members of these organisations can benefit from their advice and support. One Ex-Officio member highlighted how the Board now needs to focus on the post-registration development of pharmacy technicians and, from 2026, the introduction of independent prescribing for all newly qualified pharmacists. In relation to pharmacy technicians, another Ex-Officio member discussed the work that is taking place to develop post-registration pharmacy technician practice and how they would welcome the Board’s support and input with this. Again, the theme of strengthening collaboration was highlighted – particularly across the four countries of the UK.

One IEM reminded us of the importance of recognising the achievements of all four UK nations. He also shared a story from their own experience, as a community pharmacist, with one year’s experience as an independent prescriber (IP), that really places patients at the heart of what we are doing. Working to the principles of his IP

training, he recognised that a woman in her 60s who visited his pharmacy on a Saturday was seriously ill. The way he responded – including liaising with the local hospital and out of hours service – led to the woman being treated for a ruptured gall bladder, which is a potentially life-threatening condition. Several days later a local resident told him: “I believe you saved that woman’s life!” This story really underlines the importance of community pharmacy and I want our Board’s collective efforts to support better engagement with this sector.

We then discussed scope of practice for future pharmacy professionals. This is a huge and challenging topic, especially in the midst of so many rapid developments in pharmacy and healthcare in general. We need to describe the big picture and future proof so we don’t have to keep redefining professional roles. Horizon scanning is really important here, both for our Board and the organisations involved, and across the four UK nations.

One IEM made a crucial point about celebrating the differences between our professional identities as pharmacy technicians and pharmacists. Another said that patients and the public often do not understand the difference between professional pharmacy roles – we need to communicate better to make sure they do. An Ex-Officio member stressed the importance of moving pharmacy into the multi-disciplinary space and engaging better with those in other clinical roles. From our discussions it was clear that we need to give more confidence to patients and the public about what pharmacy professionals can do and work more closely with the pharmacy regulators to support new developments in practice.

On engagement we agreed to set up a sub-committee to support the PLBs and SPGs in engaging more proactively to promote the importance of pharmacy professional leadership and organisations that support it. It really is important that this collaborative work is visible to pharmacists and pharmacy technicians which will help generate confidence that things are moving in the right direction.

I took some time to introduce the subject of our next meeting in September which will be to start the work on developing a sustainable and effective structure for pharmacy professional leadership in the UK. Or in other words, the future direction. It’s important we begin to get into this debate and generate some pace given the limited timeframe of the Board. The first step will be to share information about the PLBs and SPGs with the Board, and for PLB and SPG leaders to put forward their initial thinking, as a starter for the discussions.

Bodies and the Board will need to be honest with themselves and the Board, and not draw ‘red lines’ at this stage. Ultimately, we all need to increase the number of pharmacy professionals who choose to be a member of a professional body. I know the over-riding commitment to collaboration is already there. We need to both understand we’re not here to solve the problems of the past, but to focus relentlessly on developing top-notch pharmacy professional leadership that is well organised and well supported by professionals in the field.