Welcome to the Royal College of Pharmacy
We’ve changed. You may know us as the Royal Pharmaceutical Society — on 15 April 2026, we became the Royal College of Pharmacy.
We are the Royal College of Pharmacy, the professional leadership body for pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists. We exist to advance the safe and effective use of medicines, drive excellence in patient care and support pharmacists to deliver the highest standards of practice.
As the third largest workforce in healthcare, pharmacy plays a vital role in the health system, and as experts in medicines, pharmacists and their teams are central to patient care and public health. Our mission is to put pharmacy at the forefront of patient care, advancing the safe and effective use of medicines to the benefit of patients and the public.
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News
The latest news and updates from Royal College of Pharmacy
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Pharmacy pressures highlighted in Welsh Senedd
This news story was published when the organisation was the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Members of the Senedd (MSs) have been hearing about the pressures community pharmacists and their teams are facing and the support required for the sector. In a joint event by the RPS and Community Pharmacy Wales (CPW), MSs gathered over Tuesday lunchtime for a briefing on the state of community pharmacy in Wales – touching on both the tireless and high-quality work of community pharmacy teams and the various pressure points that are affecting the sector at present. The discussions focused on the worrying trend of community pharmacy closures in Wales, with 26 shutting down since July 2020. This is coupled with feedback from both the RPS and CPW membership that pressures on the sector are also leading to both reduced opening and staffing hours. Other key issues raised included the need for protected learning time, challenges in securing vital medications, and the decline in real-time funding for the reimbursement of medicines. Commenting on the briefing event, RPS Wales Director Elen Jones said: “It was uplifting to hear strong support and appreciation from the politicians for community pharmacy, along with recognition of pharmacists’ expanding clinical and prescribing roles and the vital contribution this has made to the NHS in recent years. "In our discussions, we emphasised our support to sustain and expand the clinical and prescribing roles of community pharmacists as set out in 'Pharmacy; Delivering a Healthier Wales' and the contractual framework for community pharmacies in Wales; ‘Presgripsiwn Newydd/A New Prescription’. However, for this to occur, the concerns and pressures facing the sector must be heard and addressed. "I’d like to thank CPW for joining us for this event and hope their upcoming discussions with the Welsh Government result in increased support for the community pharmacy sector. At RPS Wales, we will continue to raise important issues for our members at the Senedd, with our next quarterly briefing event scheduled for December due to focus on our upcoming report on medicines shortages." Read more RCPharm news stories.
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Celebrating East and Southeast Asian Heritage Month 2024
This news story was published when the organisation was the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. For the first time, we celebrated East and Southeast Asian Heritage Month, embracing this year’s theme “Changing Seasons” to acknowledge the evolving experiences, cultures and identities of individuals within the pharmacy profession. Throughout the month, we showcased inspiring stories on our social media platforms, highlighting how East and Southeast Asian heritage has shaped the careers of pharmacy professionals. Using the #ESEAHM and #RPSIandD, we encouraged you to share your diverse perspectives. Read all the stories here. (RCPharm) We also hosted our first ABCD meeting after the summer break. The meeting aimed to honour the invaluable contributions of the ESEA communities in the field of pharmacy. A panel of pharmacy professionals, including Brendon Jiang, RPS England Pharmacy Board Vice Chair and Helen Kilminster, Primary Care Pharmacy Association National Vice President, shared their personal experiences, shedding light on how their heritage and culture have influenced their careers. Plus, Brendon shared his reflections on East and Southeast Asian Heritage Month in his latest blog, delving into the profound impact of cultural heritage, identity, and representation within the pharmacy profession. We want to thank everyone who engaged and participated throughout the month. This is our first time celebrating ESEA Heritage Month, and we'd love to hear your ideas on how we can better support and celebrate this in the future. If you would like to share your ideas, please get in touch at [email protected]. See more of our Inclusion and Diversity work. Read more RCPharmacy news stories.
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Next Steps for Pharmacy in Wales’ 2030 Vision announced at RPS Wales Conference
This news story was published when the organisation was the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. RPS Wales will once again take the lead in developing updated 3-year goals to help enable pharmacy in Wales to reach its 2030 vision, outlined in ‘Pharmacy: Delivering a Healthier Wales’ (PDaHW). The announcement was made by RPS Wales Director, Elen Jones, and Chair of the Welsh Pharmaceutical Committee Jonathan Simms at the recently held RPS Wales Conference. This iteration of PDaHW builds on the original 10-year plan, published in 2019 and the two series of stepping stone goals from 2019-2022 and 2022-2025. As well as the announcement on the next steps for the 2030 vision, the RPS Wales conference celebrated the significant advancements across pharmacy in Wales that PDaHW has helped push forward in recent years. It featured: Four presentations on the strategic developments undertaken by Digital Health and Care Wales, Health Education and Improvement Wales, the newly established NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee and an overview of the Transforming Access to Medicines (TRAMS) programme undertaken by the NHS Wales Shared Wales Services Partnership Eight quick-fire PDaHW Trailblazer talks from pharmacists and pharmacy technicians from all over Wales highlighted high quality and innovative practice aligned to the PDaHW vision. Commenting on the conference and the PDaHW announcement, Elen Jones said: “It was such a thrill to welcome nearly 200 members of pharmacy teams from all over Wales to our conference. I’d like to thank all the speakers who helped made the day such a success, especially to our inspiring PDaHW Trailblazers who all did an amazing job brining the 2030 vision to life”. “I’d like to thank the Welsh Government and the Welsh Pharmaceutical Committee for once again entrusting RPS to take this work forward. Like me, I’m sure everyone left the conference incredible proud to be pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working in Wales and inspired to move onto the next phase of our 2030 vision”. “Work on the new three-year goals will begin in early 2025. As always, we want to make sure the new goals reflect the views and ambitions of pharmacy teams in Wales. Therefore, we will be hosting a number of engagement events across Wales so that everyone has an opportunity to have their voice heard. Look out for dates and venues on your RPS member emails and on our RPS Wales social media”. Read more RCPharm news stories.