Innovative thinking needed to drive practice forward
To drive practice forward pharmacists must “think outside the box”, according to Keith Ridge, England’s chief pharmaceutical officer.
Speaking at the Hospital Pharmacist conference held in London on 31 January, Dr Ridge encouraged participants to value the breadth as well as depth of pharmacy practice.
He suggested that there are two important angles to the development of professional practice: “First professional leadership. Both the College of Pharmacy Practice and the UK Clinical Pharmacy Association are doing valuable work to underpin the development of advanced practice, but the challenge for these organisations, and others, is to deliver this in such a way that it will inform, and be relevant to, future professional leadership and regulation arrangements for pharmacy — perhaps through an academy of pharmacy practice.”
The second angle is professional regulation, he added. “Independent regulation is not just about discipline. It will also be the key to promoting improved care and quality.” He said the Government is aiming for the General Pharmaceutical Council to be open by January 2010, Parliamentary time permitting.
“We will be listening during this two-year journey and consulting when we can. And needless to say we will be working closely with those building the new approach to professional leadership to help ensure all this is as seamless as possible for pharmacy.”
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