A shared vision for the future of pharmacy professional leadership has been formally adopted by the UK Pharmacy Professional Leadership Advisory Board (UKPPLAB).
Its ‘Common Vision and Purpose for Pharmacy Professional Leadership’ forms part of the UKPPLAB’s work to build a collaborative, inclusive and effective model of pharmacy professional leadership that’s fit for the future.
Agreed by its board members – which includes representatives from the eight pharmacy professional leadership bodies – and with input from hundreds of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and others working in pharmacy across the UK, the vision aims to ‘re-energise professional leadership and support pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and the wider pharmacy workforce’.
To this end, it outlines five joint commitments:
- Co-creating a unified, effective and inclusive leadership
- Collaborating to achieve shared objectives to improve healthcare and build strong and trusting relationships with patients and communities
- Enhancing advocacy and public awareness about pharmacy’s vital role in patient care
- Embracing advancements in practice to benefit patient care and equip the profession for the digital future
- Prioritising education, innovation and research to support career development and improve health outcomes.
Strong and sustainable pharmacy leadership
Commenting on the publication of the shared vision for pharmacy professional leadership in a blog post, Sir Hugh Taylor, independent chair of the UKPPLAB, said: ‘I’m delighted to say the Board approved the final Vision and Common Purpose and this has been formally adopted by all the [professional leadership body and specialist professional group] member organisations.
‘It’s a great piece of work and is a bold commitment to future collaboration which will help us to guide our next steps on co-creation.’
Professor Mahendra Patel, independent expert member of the UKPPLAB and author of the Vision and Common Purpose, praised this ‘historic first for pharmacy’.
‘It truly demonstrates the value of working across boundaries, sharing intelligence and engaging across the entire pharmacy ecosystem,’ he said.
Royal Pharmaceutical Society president Professor Claire Anderson added: ‘As the RPS representative on the UKPPLAB, I fully support the Board’s aim to provide shared principles that underpin strong, sustainable leadership across the profession. Ongoing collaboration and open dialogue are essential as we work to advance the profession and demonstrate our collective value in improving patient care.’
The UKPPLAB is actively discussing how it can build a sustainable and effective future model of pharmacy professional leadership in the light of the vote in favour of the proposals to establish the RPS as the Royal College of Pharmacy in 2026 and is encouraging pharmacy professionals to get in touch to share their views.
The UKPPLAB was launched in October 2023 by the four UK chief pharmaceutical officers to support and enable collaborative working between organisations representing pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in different settings amid imminent changes to the pharmacy professional landscape.
