Pharmacists in sport - Royal Pharmaceutical Society

T H E V I E W F R O M WA L E S
Challenges lie ahead
Marc Donovan, Chairman Welsh Pharmacy Board
CHANGE IS now upon us and
there is little doubt that 2010
will be etched into the pages
of history as a momentous date for
the pharmacy profession. I remain
confident that establishing the new
Professional Leadership Body, and
shedding the shackles of regulation, will
offer groundbreaking opportunities for
pharmacists. While business as we know
it may change for Board members and
Society staff, the focus on working with
and leading the profession forward will
remain at the heart of what we do.
In Wales, we have worked diligently to
prepare the Welsh Pharmacy Board for the
challenges that lie ahead this year. As the
current Chair, I have been proud to be part
of this process over the past two years and
as I prepare to step down as Chair of the
current Board, I must take this opportunity
to thank my colleagues for their hard work
to date. There is still much to do however
and the hard work will certainly not stop
when the demerger of the society has taken
place. Far from it, the new Board, with
the support of members and the Society’s
staff will have to work tenaciously to
shape services that meet the needs of the
profession in Wales.
‘Becoming the ‘one-stop-shop’ for the
profession can be achieved and must
continue to be our aim’ but this has to be
a two way street and success will depend
very much upon the active involvement of
the profession as well as the hard work of
the Board and Society staff.
‘If I was to call for anything from
the profession this year, it would be
for a commitment to shape its own
professional body.’ Members of the
Welsh Pharmacy Board will greatly value
your support, suggestions and advice
during 2010 and beyond and the Society’s
Welsh staff are always happy to listen to
the views and ideas of pharmacists from
across Wales. I urge you to take these
opportunities. Be bold, be heard and work
with your new professional body to drive
your profession forward.
All change in 2010 – Building the
foundations of the new Welsh
Pharmacy Board
As well as dealing with the current issues
affecting the pharmacy profession in
Wales, the Welsh Pharmacy Board has
been turning its attention to the future and
making plans to ensure a smooth hand-over
to the new Board membership following
the de-merger of the Society this year. The
new Society structure will require new
ways of working and current members of
the Welsh Board have taken time out to
explore the key principles and behaviours
the new Board should ideally sign up to.
At its meeting held on 14th January, the
Board ratified ‘governance advice’ that
will provide a framework for the business
of the new Board. The advice calls for
action by members of the Welsh Pharmacy
Once appointed, the
new Welsh Board will
be asked to support
these principles as
part of its new ways
of working
Board to lead the profession forward,
listen to and provide a strong voice for a
united profession, act as an ambassador
for the profession, break down barriers to
progress, support members in fulfilling
their professional potential, and become a
true membership organisation.
Once appointed, the new Welsh Board
will be asked to support these principles
as part of its new ways of working.
Commenting on the proposals, Vice Chair
of the current Board, Peter Jones, said
“from the outset, it is vital that that all
members of the new Welsh Pharmacy
Board commit to ways of working which
will actively move the pharmacy profession
forward in Wales. The advice will provide
a clear indicator of what is expected from
the new Board and I am confident that this
will be fully endorsed when the new Board
takes over this year”.
Leadership in Wales 2010
A leadership programme, designed by
pharmacists for leading pharmacists, will be
run throughout 2010 to increase leadership
capability across the profession in Wales.
As a collaborative venture between RPSGB,
the Welsh Assembly Government, the
Welsh Committee for the Professional
Development of Pharmacy (WCPDP) and
the National Leadership and Innovation
Agency for Healthcare (NLIAH), the
programme will give pharmacists in Wales
the confidence and skills to tackle head-on
the challenges that face the profession.
This year’s programme builds on the
success of the initial pilot in 2008/09 and
takes account of the views of participants
from that cohort. It will include workshop
sessions with presentations from leading
pharmacists, academics and practitioners,
as well as a series of regional experiential
learning events or Action Learning Sets
to equip participants with the skills to
tackle real life difficulties. Following the
course, participants will have an improved
understanding of leadership skills and will
be better equipped to take a proactive role
in shaping patient care services, working
across professional and organisational
boundaries, and levering the benefits
from national frameworks such as the
community pharmacy contract.
One of the key successes of the
programme to date has been bringing
pharmacists together from across the
profession; from independent pharmacies,
multiples, the private sector, and NHS
organisations. As a result, feedback
from last year’s course has shown that
participants have developed a greater
understanding of the factors influencing
and affecting pharmacy across the board. It
has also led to the development of informal
networks and in many cases has opened
up channels of communication for more
collaborative forms of working.
Pharmacists that successfully completed
the programme in 2008/09 have reported
taking more decisive action to improve
ways of working, setting up enhanced
services, chairing meetings, dealing more
effectively with critical incidents and
working more closely with GPs and other
health professionals.
The cohort for this year’s programme
has been agreed and will commence in
February. Those pharmacists will face
a rigorous and personally challenging
training regime which has been described
by a past participant as ‘unlike another
training programme I have been on’. While
the course may not be for the faint hearted,
there is little doubt it will help to drive the
ambitions of pharmacy forward in Wales.
Influencing and shaping Welsh
policy
Promoting the role of pharmacy and ensuring
appropriate inclusion of the pharmacy
profession in new and emerging health
policy has continued to be a key aspect of the
work of the Welsh Pharmacy Board. Through
working closely with the Welsh Assembly
Government, recent successes have been
achieved in ensuring the role of pharmacy
is well recognised, supported and harnessed
in service developments for rural health and
supported self care.
The Rural Health Plan for Wales in
particular has signalled a commitment by
the Welsh Assembly Government, to fully
utilise the skills of pharmacists in the rural
areas of Wales. The Minister for Health and
Social Services, Edwina Hart, has called
for Health Boards to develop a network of
pharmacies across rural areas to provide
treatment for minor ailments, diagnostic
tests, healthy lifestyle support and patient
information. A national review of pharmacy
location decisions and appeals will also be
undertaken to support this and to ensure a
more planned approach to providing these
essential services is developed across the
rural parts of Wales.
The Welsh Board are keen to further
influence policy developments and will be
seeking further opportunities to be part of
forthcoming Welsh Assembly arrangements
to lead on plans for implementing the rural
health, self care and chronic conditions
management in Wales.
Ask the Experts
The Welsh Directorate have secured
a regular slot in Wales’ National daily
newspaper to provide expert advice
to the general public about keeping
healthy, preventing illness, treating health
conditions and the role that pharmacy can
play in this. During 2010 the monthly
health supplement of the Western Mail
newspaper will feature a column from Paul
Gimson, RPSGB Director for Wales which
will focus on topical health issues.
The agreement between the Welsh
Directorate and the Western Mail follows
the successful publication of RPSGBs
Ask the Experts column during 2009.
This included advice on a range of issues
including men’s health, sun awareness,
health checks, antibiotics awareness, and
pregnancy and child health, and alcohol
awareness.
Providing information to patients and the
general public about the services they can
expect from pharmacists is an area that the
Welsh Pharmacy Board is committed to.
The Ask the Experts column is one part of a
broad approach to communicating with the
public. During 2010 the Welsh Pharmacy
Board will make increasing use of the local
and national media to get key messages
across to the general public. Relationships
with key media representatives will
continue to be built and the Board will
continue to call upon the support of
pharmacist Elen Jones, who was chosen
as the ‘face of pharmacy’ to represent the
profession in the media spotlight in Wales.
The Welsh Board is always looking
for good news stories and examples of
excellence in pharmacy practise that can be
promoted across Wales and would welcome
hearing from anyone who has any news
items that can be covered in the Welsh
media. n
Events – February/March
LPF Engagement Events
Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University LPF
4th February, 6.45pm (including buffet),
The Village Hotel, Swansea
Aneurin Bevan LPF
18th February, 6.30pm (including buffet)
The Parkway Hotel, Cwmbran
Cardiff and Vale LPF
3rd March, 6.30pm (including buffet)
RPSGB Office, Cardiff Gate Business Park
* For further information please contact
Christine Horan, LPF Facilitator for Wales
on 029 20 730315
Non Medical Prescribing
Lifting the Lid – Dispelling the myths
and realising the potential of non medical
prescribing
9th February, Temple of Peace, Cardiff
* For further information please contact
Ross Gregory, Health Policy Analyst on
029 20 730310
Welsh Pharmacy Board
11th February, RPSGB Office, Cardiff Gate
Business Park
* For further information contact Sarah
Hickman, Office and Facilities Manager, on
029 20 730312
The Ask the Experts
column is one part of
a broad approach to
communicating with
the public
18 Pharmacy Professional | February 2010
February 2010 | Pharmacy Professional
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