The published list of attendees included in the RPS report mentions just one union representative from Unite the Union as being present, along with a significant number of employers and some others. The PDA, which is the only independent trade union exclusively for pharmacists and has more than half of all UK registrants in membership, was not at the session.
The exclusion of the PDA is perhaps reflected in the roundtable report which mentions funding for pharmacy businesses but does not discuss rewards for the individual locum and employed pharmacists who might take on this extra responsibility. It is also troubling to note the suggestion of introducing the role of being a Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) as part of a job description, i.e. making it a routine responsibility part of the normal job, without considering job evaluation or pay.
The PDA is listening to the experiences of practicing pharmacists about this topic, via networks, casework, and a recent survey with several hundred comprehensive responses and has further member engagement to ensure the PDA champions their expressed views and interests.
The PDA is committed to communicating the concerns of pharmacists. For example, while the PDA encourages existing pharmacists to consider becoming Independent Prescribers, and those that do to consider becoming DPPs, the PDA recognises that this must be in the right conditions, with fair remuneration and should not be compulsory. Further, those pharmacists who qualified before 2026 should continue to have the ability to practice in professionally fulfilling roles, even without undergoing additional training to become an Independent Prescriber.
PDA members continue to share their lived experience from practice and the reality of existing workload pressures and environment with the PDA which also informs the positions and recommendations taken by the PDA.
Learn more
- PDA calls on members to share their views on the role of a DPP
- PDA members’ concerns highlighted at the latest round of Regional Committee meetings
- PDA expresses concerns about decision not to fund Designated Prescribing Practitioners
Not yet a PDA member?
If you have not yet joined the PDA, we encourage you to join today and ask your colleagues to do the same.
Membership is FREE to pharmacy students, trainee pharmacists, and for the first three months of being newly qualified.
Read about our key member benefits here.