Maintain bonds with Europe regardless of Brexit, urges English Pharmacy Board member

The pharmaceutical profession in the UK must “rise above” politics and maintain healthy relationships with its European neighbours following Brexit, according to Sid Dajani, community pharmacist and member of the English Pharmacy Board.

Dajani was speaking at the gala dinner of the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU) Symposium 2017, held on 13 June 2017 at the headquarters of The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London. “Pharmacy is not bound to a political party, affiliation or even borders,” he told delegates from 24 countries. “It is bound by integrity, a chain of trust, a holistic approach to patient care and our common shared interests of developing and promoting the profession of pharmacy across Europe.”

Dajani pointed out that pharmacy faces similar challenges across all countries — highlighting working relationships with medical colleagues, reducing antimicrobial resistance, substance misuse, counteracting counterfeits and medicines shortages — but, added: “The solutions, directions taken and how those challenges are met can be very different.

“Therefore post-Brexit, it is important we maintain those enduring Europe-wide bonds, because a forum of this nature and size ensures a richness of debate … we can learn from each other, share best practice and look at the different solutions implemented to shared problems.”

Dajani urged pharmacists to rise above the noise of politics because in order to maintain and build on all previous collaborative work. “We must continue to focus on patients and what matters to stakeholders for the common good of all,” he said.