With more than 38,000 members, the PDA is the largest pharmacists’ membership organisation in the UK. The PDA is the independent voice of employed and locum pharmacists and those in training, funded by membership subscription and free of the control of the NHS or any other employer.
The PDA recognises that for pharmacy to function most effectively for patients and also the profession, each part of the pharmacy eco-system must perform its role and interact appropriately with the other players. This includes having a professional leadership body for the profession and so the PDA has traditionally offered RPS election candidates an opportunity to detail their views to PDA members.
The PDA recognises that some of its members may also be RPS members and therefore has asked the candidates for RPS National Boards to answer each of the following questions (in no more than 150 words per question) so that the PDA can share their responses with the PDA membership:
- What would you hope to achieve over the course of your office, if elected?
- The RPS ceased to be the regulator over a decade ago and therefore membership became optional. It has refused to publicly declare its membership numbers for several years, even when asked to do so at its own Annual Meetings. The membership figure of “26,137 paying members” was given in the RPS Annual report 2022 and this is a rare insight for members. What is your view on transparency and in particular the declaration of membership numbers in future?
- Should the RPS membership base remain exclusively for pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, and pharmacy students/trainee pharmacists? Why?
- Pharmacy technicians undoubtedly have an important role to play in supporting pharmacists through skill mix. However, the government seems keen instead to introduce pharmacist role substitution for example by giving pharmacy technicians’ the rights to operate Patient Group Directions (PGDs). What views do you hold on this subject and in particular, do you believe the pharmacy technicians have the appropriate levels of training to independently deliver PGDs?
- Do you support the PDA’s Safer Pharmacies Charter?
- What are your views on the UK Pharmacy Professional Leadership Advisory board installed by the 4 country Chief Pharmaceutical Officers?
The responses from each candidate can be found by clicking each candidates name below. Please keep an eye on this page as further candidate responses will be added once received.
Candidates for the English Pharmacy Board:
- Claire ANDERSON – Response not yet received
- Martin ASTBURY
- Stephen CHURTON
- Ciara DUFFY – Response not yet received
- Nirusha GOVENDER – Response not yet received
- Alisdair JONES
- Yasmin KARSAN – Response not yet received
- Nasrin KHAN – Response not yet received
- Sorbi (Sarwat) KHATTAK – Response not yet received
- Sue LADDS
- Michael MAGUIRE – Response not yet received
- Maria NASIM – Response not yet received
- Erutase OPUTU – Response not yet received
- Minesh PARBAT
- Ankish PATEL
- Shilpa PATEL
- Matthew PRIOR
- Emlata RAMDUT – Response not yet received
- Aiysha RAOOF – Response not yet received
- Connor THOMPSON – Response not yet received
Learn more
- PDA’s Safer Pharmacies Charter
- RPS – English Pharmacy Board 2022 candidate responses on key topics
- RPS National Pharmacy Boards Elections
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.