Key Summary
- The proposals have been developed by the eight professional leadership bodies.
- It aims to prioritise excellence and ambition in education, innovation, research and career development.
- Strengthen the collective voice of pharmacy professional leadership through collaboration.
The UK Pharmacy Professional Leadership Advisory Board (UKPPLAB) on Thursday (12) published its proposals for a new approach to pharmacy professional leadership in the UK, involving a more inclusive Royal College of Pharmacy by December 2029.
The proposals set out recommendations for the future strategy and form of the Royal College when it is established in April 2026.
They are designed to create a new professional home for pharmacy, with an ambitious strategy, which is inclusive and has a clear, attractive offer for members, and is grounded in engagement with patients and the public.
The proposals have been developed by the eight professional leadership bodies and specialist professional groups and independent expert members involved in the Board, which include the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
The board’s recommendations for the future Royal College cover:
- Endorsing and adopting the Vision and Common Purpose for Pharmacy Professional Leadership principles as foundational for its work.
- Embedding collaboration and co-creation as watchwords, so its strategy is co-owned by those engaged in pharmacy professional leadership across the UK.
- Committing to a wide-ranging engagement exercise on its strategy, including the Board’s contributions, to identify early tangible actions.
- Leading a three-stage inclusion process to include specialist professional groups, pharmacy technicians and Northern Ireland within the Royal College, subject to consultation and special resolution votes.
The board's future strategy includes five ambitions:
- Co-create a unified and inclusive professional home.
- Prioritise excellence and ambition in education, innovation, research and career development.
- Strengthen the collective voice of pharmacy professional leadership through collaboration.
- Renew relationships, enhancing engagement with members, potential members and wider stakeholders.
- Showcase and promote the best in pharmacy leadership.
Board members have signed up for a three-stage inclusion process to be completed by December 2029.
This outlines how the Royal College could become a more inclusive professional leadership home for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmaceutical scientists, pharmacy trainees and students, and others working in pharmacy across the UK, including Northern Ireland.
- The key elements (all subject to the required engagement, member consultation and member votes) could include:
- Inclusion of pharmacy technicians as Royal College members with distinct and equitable representation at Council, Senate and Board level.
- Inclusion of pharmacists in Northern Ireland as Royal College members - and forming a National Council for Northern Ireland.
- Inclusion of the specialist professional groups and their members, through the creation of a Forum of Specialist Associations - involving the British Oncology Pharmacy Association, the College of Mental Health Pharmacy, the Primary Care Pharmacy Association and the UK Clinical Pharmacy Association in the first instance - and its subsequent incorporation through a formal role in the Royal College’s governance and professional leadership.
Sir Hugh Taylor, Independent Chair of Board, said, “This collaborative statement marks an important step towards an inclusive and effective Royal College of Pharmacy: creating the opportunity to widen and strengthen the collective voice of pharmacy professional leadership through the inclusion of all four countries of the UK, specialist groups and both professions.
"It is a testament to the commitment and collaborative working of the Board over the past two years, and to a shared determination to put patients, the public and the pharmacy professions at the heart of professional leadership for the future.
“Change will take time, continued close collaboration and effective engagement. But the statement is a call for action and this is a generational opportunity that must be seized. The challenges facing pharmacy and the wider health system are no respecters of national, professional, sectoral or organisational boundaries."
RPS president professor Claire Anderson, said, “As the RPS representative on the UKPPLAB I congratulate Sir Hugh and my fellow Board members on the Board’s continued commitment to deepening collaboration and to an inclusive future for pharmacy professional leadership.
"I can see significant benefits to both professionals and patients in coming together in terms of professional leadership, and it is vital that everyone in pharmacy has the opportunity to debate and discuss the proposals UKPPLAB puts forward."
UKPPLAB independent expert board member professor Mahendra G Patel said, "This is a once-in-a-generation moment for pharmacy. At this pivotal time for our profession, the work of the UK Pharmacy Professional Leadership Advisory Board reflects both careful stewardship and collective ambition.
Sir Hugh Taylor
"As an independent expert member - and having been at the heart of this journey since the earliest work of the UK Pharmacy Commission - I have seen first-hand the power of collaboration across sectors, nations and practice settings.
"The Vision and Common Purpose we have co-created - and a commitment signed up to by all member pharmacy professional leadership bodies and specialist professional groups - lays the bedrock for a Royal College of Pharmacy that is confident, inclusive and future-facing.
"Our ambition is clear: to unify our profession, strengthen professional leadership, and ensure pharmacy’s voice is influential at the highest levels of health and care.
"As pharmacy enters one of the most exciting periods in its modern history, I am confident that the Royal College will be a professional home for all - rooted in integrity, collaboration and shared purpose - shaping the future identity, leadership and impact of pharmacy across the United Kingdom."
