The merger of the Boots Pharmacists’ Association (BPA) into the PDA Union this year is just one example of how the PDA is building a stronger, more representative voice for the UK pharmacist profession.
1 January 2025 is not only the day that the BPA became part of the PDA family, but it also marks five years since the National Association of Women Pharmacists (NAWP) also became part of the PDA. As NAWP was originally founded in 1905 it is one of the oldest organisations in UK pharmacy and the PDA inherited that organisational history. NAWP is now flourishing as a PDA Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Network.
Later in 2020, the PDA launched three other Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Networks: the LGBT+ Pharmacists’ Network, BAME Pharmacists’ Network and Ability, the network for pharmacists with disabilities, further building the PDA family. All four networks are engaging pharmacists on the essential topic of equality, both in practice and in the workplace.
The BPA was founded in 1973 and so adds another 51 years of history to the PDA story and by merging with the PDA Union, this affirms the PDA status as the ONLY trade union in the UK which is exclusively for pharmacists and which is dedicated to their personal and professional interests.
Within Boots, this means that around 70% of employed pharmacists are already PDA Union members, and the organisation believes this should be further motivation for the remaining three in ten to join them in the PDA. Overall, the PDA has over 39,000 members across all areas of practice, including 7,000 working for NHS Employer organisations, others in GP practices and federations, academia, prisons, manufacturing and wherever pharmacists practice. Many are employed in community pharmacy or locum.
Paul Day, Director of Membership & Communities at the PDA said, “The more pharmacists that come together in a single organisation, the more diverse their range of personal backgrounds, the wider their professional experience and the stronger their voice.
We invite every remaining employed or locum pharmacist that has not yet done so, to join the PDA and add to that professional unity and the collective influence that pharmacists can exercise through their organsiation.”
Learn more
- Boots Pharmacists’ Association joins the PDA family
- NAWP begins a new chapter as a network of the PDA
- PDA Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Networks
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.