Having grown up with an understanding of pharmacy in Syria and now building my career as a pharmacist in the UK, I have had the opportunity to see how differently the profession can operate across two healthcare systems. There are obvious differences, but perhaps what has surprised me most are the similarities.
Conversations about my background at pharmacy events prompted me to think more deeply about how pharmacy practice in Syria compares with pharmacy in the UK and ultimately inspired me to write this article. As a newly qualified pharmacist with a Syrian background, it felt particularly meaningful to reflect on both the similarities and the differences between the two systems.
Syria is a country in the Middle East, situated on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea and neighbouring Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. Its major cities include the capital, Damascus, as well as Aleppo, Homs, Hama and Latakia.
In both countries, the UK and Syria, community pharmacy can be much more than somewhere where patients collect medicines. For many people, their local pharmacist is someone they have known for years, someone they trust enough to ask about a new symptom, a medicine or something they may not initially feel requires a doctor’s appointment.
As a newly qualified pharmacist with a Syrian background, it felt particularly meaningful to reflect on both the similarities and the differences between the two systems – in Syria and in the UK.
This relationship is particularly noticeable in Syria, where community pharmacists are often among the first healthcare professionals that patients approach when they become unwell. This is partly due to the accessibility of community pharmacies, where patients can usually seek advice quickly without an appointment, but affordability can also play an important role. Although Syria has both public and private healthcare services, patients can face significant out-of-pocket healthcare costs, meaning that speaking to a pharmacist may be more convenient and affordable than arranging a medical consultation. This contrasts with England, where patients can access GP care through the NHS without paying at the point of use.
However, it is not only about cost or convenience. Pharmacists are often well established within their local communities, and patients may have known and trusted the same pharmacist for many years. This familiarity can make the pharmacy a natural first point of contact for advice about symptoms, medicines and whether further medical assessment is required.
Interestingly, the UK has increasingly moved in a similar direction through more structured NHS community pharmacy services. Scotland has a well-established Pharmacy First service, encouraging patients with minor illnesses to use their community pharmacy as their first point of contact. Wales similarly offers a Common Ailments Service, through which pharmacists can assess and provide treatment for a wide range of common conditions.
Although Syria has both public and private healthcare services, patients can face significant out-of-pocket healthcare costs, meaning that speaking to a pharmacist may be more convenient and affordable
In England, Pharmacy First allows patients to access assessment and treatment for defined clinical conditions directly through participating community pharmacies, without necessarily seeing their GP first. These services reflect a wider shift towards making greater use of the accessibility and clinical expertise of community pharmacists. The clinical role is expanding further, with pharmacists trained under the new standards joining the register as independent prescribers from 2026.
There are similarities in professional assessment too. In Great Britain, pharmacists complete foundation training and must pass the Common Registration Assessment before registration as well as Syria having a national unified pharmacy examination system. Despite the different structures, both systems demonstrate the importance placed on assessing pharmacists’ professional knowledge and competence.
One major difference is the infrastructure surrounding pharmacists. In England, community pharmacists can increasingly access relevant clinical information, including medication histories and outcomes from services such as Pharmacy First can be communicated back to the patient’s GP. In Syria, healthcare information is generally less digitally interconnected, meaning pharmacists may depend more heavily on what patients can tell them about their conditions, previous treatments and medicines. This places even greater importance on communication, questioning and clinical judgement.
Medicines, including antibiotics, have historically been more directly accessible through Syrian pharmacies than in the UK. This accessibility can be valuable
Access to medicines is another interesting contrast. Medicines, including antibiotics, have historically been more directly accessible through Syrian pharmacies than in the UK. This accessibility can be valuable, particularly when access to another healthcare professional is difficult. However, it also places significant responsibility on pharmacists to recognise red flags, promote appropriate medicine use and know when referral is necessary.
Syria’s pharmaceutical story is closely linked to its recent history. Before the conflict, more than 90% of medicines used in the country were produced domestically. Years of conflict, damage to manufacturing facilities, economic restrictions and difficulties accessing raw materials significantly disrupted production and contributed to medicine shortages. What is particularly interesting is the resilience of Syria’s pharmaceutical industry. By 2026, domestic manufacturers were again reported to be meeting around 80% of the country’s medicine needs, with Syrian pharmaceutical products being exported to 23 countries. While some specialist and biological medicines still need to be imported, the recovery of local manufacturing demonstrates the important role that Syria’s pharmaceutical industry continues to play in supporting medicine access.
What is particularly interesting is the resilience of Syria’s pharmaceutical industry. By 2026, domestic manufacturers were again reported to be meeting around 80% of the country’s medicine needs, with Syrian pharmaceutical products being exported to 23 countries
Research from Syria has also raised concerns about medicine quality during the war, including poor storage conditions, limited regulatory oversight and the possible presence of substandard or falsified medicines. These challenges can place patients at further risk when the medicines they depend upon may not have been transported, stored or quality-controlled appropriately.
There is now an opportunity for change. Following the fall of the Assad government in December 2024, the EU lifted its economic sanctions on Syria in May 2025, with security-related and targeted measures remaining, while the US ended its comprehensive Syria sanctions programme in July 2025. These changes may help remove barriers to trade, investment and access to medicines, although Syria’s healthcare system remains under considerable strain and rebuilding will take time.
Another important difference can be seen in hospital pharmacy. In UK hospitals, pharmacists are embedded within multidisciplinary teams, reviewing medicines, undertaking medicines reconciliation, advising clinicians, supporting antimicrobial stewardship, monitoring treatment and contributing to discharge planning. In Syria, clinical pharmacy is developing, but these roles are not yet consistently embedded across hospitals. Hospital pharmacists may remain more focused on medicine supply and distribution, while clinical activities such as participating in ward rounds are developing in some settings, including larger hospitals in Damascus.
Despite the differences between Syria and the UK, the purpose remains the same: being there when a patient needs advice, reassurance and safe, effective care
So, what might the strengths of each system be?
Syria demonstrates the value of accessibility, strong community relationships and the pharmacist as a trusted first point of care.
The UK demonstrates what becomes possible when that trust is supported by clinical records, multidisciplinary working, structured pathways and prescribing authority. Perhaps the future of pharmacy can learn from both: keeping pharmacists accessible and embedded within their communities, while giving them the information, infrastructure and clinical authority to use their expertise to its fullest.
Despite the differences between Syria and the UK, the purpose remains the same: being there when a patient needs advice, reassurance and safe, effective care.
