Following the announcement from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) about plans to modernise its charter and become a Royal College, the chief pharmaceutical officers (CPhOs), the UK Pharmacy Professional Leadership Advisory Board (UKPPLAB) and Pharmacists‘ Defence Association (PDA) have voiced differing views on the proposed changes.
A Royal College would be ‘the optimum vehicle for the realisation of everyone’s ambitions for pharmacy‘, the CPhOs for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland said in a joint statement.
Likewise, the UKPPLAB expressed its support for the RPS to become the Royal College of Pharmacy – hailing the proposed move as an ‘historic opportunity to raise the profile of pharmacy‘ in the UK.
But the PDA has urged the RPS to abandon its ballot altogether, or if it goes ahead, encouraged pharmacists to vote ‘no‘.
The RPS is proposing the following changes to its royal charter:
- To become a royal college, called ‘The Royal College of Pharmacy‘
- To become a charity, which would mean it needs to create a trustee board that is responsible for legal and financial matters
- To create a wholly owned (limited) subsidiary for its knowledge business, Pharmaceutical Press.
It will be holding a special resolution vote on the changes for its members between 13 and 24 March 2025.
UKPPLAB would welcome Royal College change
The UKPPLAB was set up in October 2023 to bring together pharmacy professionals and work towards a collective voice for the sector.
It said that a Royal College, done right, could be a sustainable model of professional leadership for both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
And it has the potential to ‘catalyse, deepen and focus collaboration across pharmacy professional leadership bodies and specialist professional groups‘, as well as ‘raise the profile of pharmacy in the UK for the long-term‘.
‘We therefore welcome the commitment of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society to work closely with the Board in the co-creation of the Royal College if its members support this proposal,‘ the UKPPLAB said in a statement shared on 6 March.
‘We all need to work together’
In a statement, the four national CPhOs also added their voice to the conversation, saying: ‘A Royal College is the optimum vehicle for the realisation of everyone’s ambitions for pharmacy, underpinned by a genuine process of co-creation and continued collaboration.
‘We have arrived at a moment when we all need to work together with trust, openness and mutual understanding so we are able to reap the considerable benefits for all those working in pharmacy and cement our key purpose for patients and our communities.‘
The CPhOs Andrew Evans (Wales), Cathy Harrison (Northern Ireland), Alison Strath (Scotland) and David Webb (England) added: ‘Voting in favour of a Royal College of Pharmacy is a profound step we can take towards this future.‘
PDA warns against ‘irreversible decision‘
But the PDA suggested that the RPS ballot, which is due to open this week, was ‘hastily convened‘.
In a snapshot poll of 2,000 RPS members and non-members, 67% said they felt not very informed or not at all informed about the proposals to become a royal college, the PDA said.
‘What is being proposed is not just a decision about the future of the current RPS organisation whose principal objective is to look after and promote the interests of pharmacists.
‘It would likely represent an irreversible decision to lose that objective. The members’ assets would be transferred to a new body whose senior leadership would be significantly made up of non-pharmacists and whose principal objective would be to act in the public interest,‘ the PDA added.
Responding to the PDA‘s position on the matter, RPS president Professor Claire Anderson voiced the Society‘s disappointment.
She highlighted that the proposed changes to the royal charter are the result of an ‘extensive period of engagement with our members and wider stakeholders‘ and a ‘democratic process during which elected members of Assembly have reviewed, amended and unanimously approved the proposals for change‘.
She also referenced the engagement roadshows held during October and November 2024 to communicate the proposals and the principles behind them to RPS members, as well as their comprehensive list of FAQs that is regularly updated.
Professor Anderson added: ‘We are a matter of days away from inviting our Members and Fellows to participate in an historic vote that, if supported by two thirds of those members who vote, would see the RPS move towards becoming the Royal College of Pharmacy. This is something many have been calling for over a number of years and the time to act is now.‘
Potential conflict with the Pharmacist Support charity
One of the concerns raised by the PDA was around potential conflict with the charity Pharmacist Support and the RPS‘s proposed aim ‘to relieve poverty, financial hardship, or other distress among current and former Members and Associate Members of the College, their dependents, and those studying or training to be pharmacists, as well as others in the pharmacy profession, as determined by the Trustees‘.
But the RPS released a statement today that it did not intend to create competition with Pharmacist Support, but had included the aim as a reflection of ‘a long-standing commitment by the RPS to benevolence in the current Royal Charter and which the Charity Commission requires to be explicitly moved to the amended Royal Charter’s charitable objects clause if that commitment to benevolence for the pharmacy profession is to be retained by the Royal College of Pharmacy‘.
The joint statement signed by both the RPS and Pharmacist Support said: ‘If the special resolution is approved by members, the RPS intends to ensure that its commitment to benevolence is delivered effectively through strengthening the partnership with Pharmacist Support. A review of the existing partnership agreement will be undertaken to align with the new structure and goals of the Royal College of Pharmacy‘.
A version of this article was originally published by our sister publication The Pharmacist.
