Claire Anderson, National Pharmacy Board campaign pledge

The RPS has an increasing role in developing competency frameworks and supporting foundation, advanced and consultant practice (through guidance and accreditation of standards). Pharmacy practice is becoming more patient-focused in the delivery of clinical care. Pharmacists see more people with multiple long-term conditions who need complex support to take their medicines. Pharmacists in community and primary care will increasingly do much of the work that GPs did 20 years ago. They will be integrated into the multidisciplinary primary care team and not always based in the pharmacy but where patients are, in care homes, at home, in community centres, and they will be prescribers. More will be done digitally and robotically, allowing us to move to a service-based role, having longer consultations with patients about their medicines, health and wellbeing.

As an experienced professor of pharmacy, globally recognised for contributions to pharmacy education, I am passionate about education and training and wish to continue to bring this valuable experience to the English Pharmacy Board. As well as a more clinical and integrated MPharm and pre-registration year, the profession urgently needs a foundation programme more akin to that of medicine, and I believe the RPS can be the home for this, in partnership with other organisations, as discussed at the recent chief pharmaceutical officer’s conference. If re-elected, I will work to ensure that employers across the profession recognise the need for this and start to base job descriptions and promotions on these credentials. If re-elected, I will also help to further develop our strong links with other Royal Colleges and promote the integration of pharmacy into multidisciplinary healthcare teams, wherever they may be.

Claire Anderson, England