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NPA conference to discuss future of community pharmacy within NHS

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has announced that the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England, David Webb will be among the keynote speakers at the Pharmacy Odyssey Conference on 13 October.

He and other special guests will discuss the future of community pharmacy within the NHS, during a day of insight and practical advice for pharmacy teams.


The NPA promises expert opinion on the current pressures in the sector and a thorough exploration of the long-term picture.

NPA Director of Membership, Simon Tebbutt, explains: “With the NPA centenary in 2021 behind us, this will be a foray into the future - mapping the coming decade, and next half-century – as well as covering the many challenges of the present time.”

The theme of the conference, to be held online and sponsored by Novo Nordisk, is Pharmacy Odyssey: Services, Supply and Sustainability.

The opening session will also provide a perspective from primary care, in the form of the NHS Confederation. The event will then continue with presentations on genomics, weight management, automation and workforce pressures

Futurologist James Woudhuysen will apply his prescient mind to digital healthcare. Professor Woudhuysen once helped install Britain’s first computer-controlled car park!

Another Professor - David Taylor of University College London - will speak about his report into the implications of high inflation rates for the sustainability of community pharmacy, given the baseline of significantly reduced NHS funding in England.

The BBC’s medical editor, Fergus Walsh, will host the conference from a studio in London, where speakers will join him ‘on the sofa’.

The conference was originally due to be held in September but was postponed following the death of Her Majesty The Queen.

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