Medicine shortages
Our work to highlight how medicine shortages affect patient care, the pressures on pharmacy teams, and recommendations to inform action.
For newly qualified pharmacists
This resource hub provides real-time practical support to ensure you develop the capability, confidence and professional judgement you need to prescribe safely and effectively.
From our President Tase Oputu
On 15 April 1841, a dedicated group of London chemists and druggists came together to form a professional body. Today, 185 years later, I am immensely proud to welcome you…
Credentialing
We provide a standardised credentialing framework for pharmacists’ post-registration education and training, enabling them to be recognised for their advancing professional capabilities.
News
The latest news and updates from Royal College of Pharmacy.
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Community pharmacies hit 40m COVID-19 vaccinations
This news story was published when the organisation was the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Following news that community pharmacies in England had administered over 40m COVID-19 vaccinations by the end of 2023, and that the sector has provided a quarter of all COVID vaccinations to date, Director of RPS in England Dr James Davies said: "This is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the hard work and dedication of the thousands of community pharmacists and pharmacy teams across the country. “Pharmacies are at the heart of communities and expanding vaccination services will play a key role in reducing health inequalities, in particular in deprived areas where trusted local pharmacists have proven they can help address vaccine hesitancy. “With the right support and resources, pharmacists are ideally placed to expand vaccination coverage, engaging with their local communities to boost uptake and support public health and disease prevention." Read more RCPharm news stories.
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Christina McKelvie MSP Appointed Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy
This news story was published when the organisation was the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Scottish government has announced that Christina McKelvie has been appointed Minister for Drugs and Alcohol policy, following the resignation of Elena Whitham MSP as Drug and Alcohol Minister. Royal Pharmaceutical Society would like to put on record our thanks to Ms Whitham for working with us during her time as Drug and Alcohol Minister, and particularly for her efforts to bring in a new national service to provide emergency access to supplies of naloxone. RPS Scotland has consistently called for naloxone to be available from every community pharmacy for supply to people who use drugs, family, healthcare professionals, and for it to be available in all clinical settings for use in emergencies. This new service across the community pharmacy network is a huge step forward in achieving this, and is recommendation number one from our policy on Pharmacy’s role in reducing harm and preventing drug deaths. We know there is so much more to do to reduce harm and prevent drug deaths across Scotland and look forward to working with Ms McKelvie to take many of our policies on this forward. We will be writing to Ms McKelvie to secure an introductory meeting with her as soon as possible. Commenting on the news, Laura Wilson, Director of RPS Scotland, said: “Pharmacy teams have a huge role to play in reducing harm and preventing drugs deaths across Scotland. We’re pleased with some of the policy steps which have been taken so far, most notably the national naloxone service brought in last year, which is extremely welcome. "There is still so much to do, and we look forward to working with Ms McKelvie, and Scottish government more widely, to implement additional policies to reduce harm and prevent drug deaths.” Read more RCPharm news stories.
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Pharmacists warn of impact of prescription charges on patient care
This news story was published when the organisation was the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Pharmacists have warned they are increasingly seeing patients in England declining to take vital medicines owing to the cost of prescription charges. Responding to a survey by the Pharmacists’ Defence Association and Royal Pharmaceutical Society, more than one-third of pharmacists (35%) said they have seen an increase in patients declining prescriptions in the past 12 months. The vast majority of respondents (97%) have seen cases where patients decline some of the medicines on a prescription owing to cost. More than one-quarter (26%) said they saw this often. The type of medicines being declined include those for blood pressure, inhalers, pain relief, statins and mental health. The warning adds to the voices of leading patient groups calling for reform to prescription charges. The Pharmacists’ Defence Association and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society are members of the Prescription Charges Coalition, a coalition of more than 50 organisations including leading patient groups, calling on the Government to scrap prescription charges for people with long-term conditions in England. Chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in England Tase Oputu said: “These survey results show a worrying rise in people not taking up the medicines they have been prescribed. Amid an ongoing cost of living crisis, prescription charges risk widening health inequalities in England. “Nobody should face a financial barrier to accessing the medicines they need to stay well. Prescription charges are an unfair tax on health and increase the risk of avoidable hospital admissions, piling on pressure to the wider health service. “The prescription charges system is confusing for patients and creates unnecessary bureaucracy for pharmacy teams who want to focus their time on patient care. “In a general election year, I hope that political parties can commit to properly reviewing this complex and unjust system. It is high-time this stealth tax was abolished.” Read the survey results The call to scrap prescription charges in England is a vital issue in our general election manifesto. Find out how you can support the campaign at www.rpharms.com/manifesto You can also sign this petition calling on the government to freeze the annual prescription charge increase in 2024/2025
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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