The 2023 Pharmacy Show was held at the NEC, Birmingham on Sunday 15 and Monday 16 October. A number of PDA Representatives spoke at sessions at the event and the large exhibition and range of other talks available to attend also gave a great opportunity to catch up with many pharmacy developments.
Supervision in community pharmacy
Contributions from PDA speakers included PDA Chairman, Mark Koziol’s participation in a panel session discussing the work of the Supervision Practice Group. The group of organisations from across the community pharmacy sector aimed to provide joint recommendations to reframe legislation, regulation, and professional standards and guidance to achieve a new vision for community pharmacy. Over the course of nine collaborative and positive workshop-style discussions led by Professor Michael Twigg the group had achieved that aim and reached a consensus agreement on several recommendations on the subjects of:
- The legislation relating to ‘supervision’
- The temporary absence of the Responsible Pharmacist (RP) from the pharmacy
- Delegation
- The preparation and assembly of medicines when the RP is not signed in.
The report and further information can be viewed here.
Managing the risk of antimicrobial resistance from conflict zones (lessons from the war in Ukraine)
UCL global engagement lead and lecturer, Oksana Pyzik, who is working with the PDA as an International & Humanitarian Development Associate also presented a session on Managing the risk of Antimicrobial Resistance from conflict zones (lessons from the war in Ukraine).
The learnings from the session originated from the Medicines to Ukraine campaign organised by the Employed Pharmacists of Europe Federation (EPhEU), of which the PDA is the UK member organisation.
EPhEU has been actively involved in getting vital medicines to Ukraine, alongside helping understand the risk of antimicrobial resistance caused by conflict and the displacement of populations. This issue needs to be understood and considered an emergency. Whether caused by natural disasters or war, there is a need for decision-makers to act around AMR strategy and how practitioners care for patients.
Oksana’s talk included encouraging membership of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) who are collaborating with the PDA on this work. More information about the work of BSAC can be found here.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
The PDA is at the frontline of tackling inequality through support to those who have been discriminated against, and the four PDA Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Networks work year around to positively improve diversity & inclusion.
A session delivered by PDA Director of Defence Services, Mark Pitt, covered neurodiversity and securing workplace inclusion. With many employers facing recruitment and retention challenges, every employee should matter, yet too often talent is wasted due to failure to secure the full contribution of individuals who happen to be neurodiverse or have some form of physical or mental health condition.
This session shared learning from the PDA Ability Network as to what needs to change to ensure disability is not a barrier to full inclusion. More information about the PDA Ability Network, which is there for pharmacists with any form of disability, is available here.
President of the PDA National Association of Women Pharmacists (NAWP) Network, Ayah Abbass spoke in a session on diversity and inclusion and the importance of taking ownership. Ayah explained her journey into the pharmacist profession and talked about the challenges faced by women pharmacists.
More information about the PDA NAWP Network can be found here.
In another session, the Immediate Past President of the PDA BAME Network, Elsy Campos Gomez, spoke about her career and how she came to form the UK Black Pharmacists Association.
Elsy is an overseas pharmacist having qualified in Cuba. Elsy worked as a pharmacy assistant and technician in the UK before completing the Postgraduate Diploma for Overseas Pharmacists.
PDA Regional Committee member, Adebayo Adegbite spoke at a session alongside other speakers titled, ‘One profession, many roots – carrying culture across borders’. Adebayo recounted his experiences of qualifying in Nigeria and then moving to the UK to undertake the Postgraduate Diploma for Overseas Pharmacists before joining the register here in the UK.
Pharmacy teams are made up of people from different backgrounds and cultures. This session aimed to explore the experiences of people who are from the first, second, or third generation of their family to have moved to the UK, and work in pharmacy.
More information about PDA BAME Network can be found here.
Attendees from the PDA took the opportunity to hear from many speakers over the two-day event and are looking forward to returning next year. For those considering attendance at the event next year the dates are Sunday 13 and Monday 14 October 2024. It will once again be held at the NEC, Birmingham.
Learn more
- Pharmacy Supervision Practice Group – Update and outcome
- British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
- PDA Ability Network
- PDA NAWP Network
- PDA BAME Network
- PDA at the Pharmacy Show 2022
- PDA Events
- Medicines to Ukraine
- EPhEU
- PDA EDI Networks
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