The pharmacy organisation, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in Scotland has published a new draft strategy - Pharmacy 2030 - its “vision for community pharmacy in Scotland” as the first step in a consultation process to shape the profession for the coming years.

Community pharmacy has been widely recognised through the pandemic as the one part of the NHS that managed to remain directly accessible to patients through each wave.

RPS Director for Scotland, Clare Morrison, says it is time to make sure that pharmacy is fit for the future for patients:

“The covid pandemic has changed our world and it’s changed health care.

“This is why pharmacy needs a new vision. Not because previous strategies weren’t good, but because we need something now that reflects our changed world. This publication is the first step in creating that vision.

“Pharmacy 2030 describes a future where community pharmacies will remain the place from which people get their medicines, but the pharmacist’s role will be transformed.

“Pharmacists will be more clinically focused on supporting the safe and effective use of medicines. Patients will be offered a conversation about their medicines with every single supply, and pharmacists will routinely use clinical examination and prescribing to deliver person-centred care.

“The report explains how pharmacy will tackle health inequalities that have come to the fore during covid. Importantly, it describes how all of this will be underpinned by better use of data, digital infrastructure and proper workforce development.”

The report has been welcomed by Ian Rudd, Director of Pharmacy at NHS Highland and chair of the Directors of Pharmacy Group:

“It highlights many key issues for further discussion across the profession in Scotland.

“I would encourage all pharmacists to join with the RPS in the conversations that are to follow.”

In 2020, the Scottish government launched NHS Pharmacy First an initiative encouraging people to seek advice and help from their community pharmacy team as an alternative to booking a GP appointment – which also saw pharmacists being asked to undertake more consultations and treatment for a number of minor ailments.

Jonathan Burton is Chair of the Scottish Pharmacy Board. He says Pharmacy 2030 is the first step to creating a blueprint for how the entire profession makes sure it is fit for the future:

“As the only pharmacy organisation with members across all sectors of pharmacy, RPS is well-placed to engage with the profession and create a single vision for the whole of pharmacy.

“Having first published a vision for community pharmacy, we plan to publish further visions on other areas, including GP practice, hospital, and non-patient facing roles such as academia and industry.

“Then, later this year, all of this work will be brought together into a single new vision for pharmacy – Pharmacy 2030 – which will demonstrate how the whole profession can work together, and with the wider multi-disciplinary team, to deliver seamless, person-centred care for patients.

“It’s vital that our vision reflects the views of everyone involved, so I would encourage anyone with an interest in the future of pharmacy to get involved and share their thoughts.”

Views are being sought from a wide range of groups, including pharmacists, technicians, contractors, other health professionals, patients and the public, with the consultation open until 1^st July 2021.

Pharmacy 2030, a summary and details of how pharmacists, fellow healthcare professionals and patients can get involved in the consultation can be found on the RPS Scotland website.

Read more pharmacy news on healthandcare.scot: Community pharmacy Scotland 2021 election manifesto;  Pharmacists call for greater recognition in the NHS; Jonathan Burton: pharmacists should be central to mass vaccination programmes

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