There have been big changes across the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in 2019: it has been a year of new faces, new campaigns, new publications and, for the RPS in Scotland, a new home.
Following the national pharmacy board elections, which closed on 16 May 2019, Adam Mackridge joined the Welsh Pharmacy Board (WPB) and Brian Addison took up a place on the Scottish Pharmacy Board (SPB). The English Pharmacy Board (EPB) welcomed three new members: Andre Yeung, Duncan Petty and Brendon Jiang.
Scotland and England also saw the election of new board chairs. In Scotland, Jonathan Burton, former vice chair of the SPB, took over after John McAnaw stepped down in July. Claire Anderson was elected as chair of the EPB, taking over from Sandra Gidley. Ewan Black and Martin Astbury were elected as vice chairs of the SPB and EPB, respectively. In Wales, Suzanne Scott-Thomas held her role as board chair and Cheryl Way was newly elected to the vice chair role.
In July, Ash Soni announced that he was stepping down as president of the RPS after two years. Sandra Gidley, former chair of the English Pharmacy Board, was elected by the RPS Assembly to the post.
The Society’s inclusion and diversity programme was launched in August. Chaired by Asif Sadiq, head of inclusion, diversity and belonging for the Telegraph Media Group, the programme aims to lead to an RPS policy document on inclusion and diversity to be published in March 2020.
The RPS had a big year in publishing, too: in September, the
BNF celebrated its 70th anniversary and, in October, the fully open-access
Integrated Healthcare Journal — a joint venture between the RPS and The
BMJ — was launched.
On 10 October 2019, the RPS celebrated World Mental Health Day by launching its campaign for mental health and wellbeing in the pharmacy workforce, which started with a call for pharmacists to have access to NHS-funded staff wellbeing services.
Around 600 delegates attended the Society’s annual conference in London on 17 November 2019. During the event, Gail Fleming, director for education and professional development at the RPS, announced the publication of the foundation pharmacist framework: the first step towards a nationwide, multisector foundation training programme for pharmacists across the UK.
Towards the end of the year, RPS Scotland moved to a new home: a grade A listed 19th century Georgian townhouse, on Melville Street in Edinburgh’s west end.
Below are the ten most-read Your RPS articles of 2019, followed by five articles still proving popular from 2018.
If you have any feedback or content suggestions for Your RPS, please email: corrinne.burns@rpharms.com
10. Palliative Care Formulary now available on MedicinesComplete
8. Ash Soni: “You get fed up with people throwing rocks at your head”
7. Ash Soni to step down as RPS president
6. Sandra Gidley elected as new president of RPS
5. How the RPS in Wales helped shape the vision for pharmacy’s future
4. Wendy Jones: “Mothers feel reassured after talking to us”
3. Ravi Sharma: “We want to see the pharmacy profession to flourish”
2. A tribute to Frances Rooney
1. RPS calls for investigation after online pharmacies prescribed opioids to undercover reporter
Still popular from 2018
5. Updated RPS hospital pharmacy standards published
4. Pharmacists’ role in mental health management: a personal view
3.
Medicines, Ethics and Practice 42 out now
2. The changing role of the pharmacist in the 21st century
1. Elections 2018: What is the biggest issue facing pharmacy?
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