The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7504 p672
31 May 2008

Society summary

President’s final message: members must change

In a final message to the profession before his retirement from the Council of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the Society’s President, Hemant Patel, has said that not only does the Society need to change but its members must change too.

Speaking at the end of the Society’s annual general meeting on 21 May 2008 — his final official duty as President — Mr Patel said: “My final message to the profession is this. Everybody demands culture change at Lambeth. I think it is right. The Society needs to change some of its deeply ingrained practices and value its members.

“But it cannot be one way: the members must themselves change in attitude, values and commitment to their local branch, to the Society. It is their organisation. The Society is the membership.”

The President thanked the membership for the support they had given him and the Society’s staff for their hard work during all his years in the post. From time to time there had been differences, but he wanted everyone to know that he admired their work.

“I also want to thank the many branches who invited me. I think firm friendships have developed from those early introductions,” he said.

One thing he wished for was that the Society should become more overtly pharmacist-friendly. The Society had to be relevant to the daily needs of pharmacists. It did fantastic work in terms of strategy and long-term planning, but pharmacists also wanted help in dealing with their everyday activity.

Mr Patel added that pharmacists needed to reflect on their backgrounds and see what education, and in particular a degree in pharmacy, had done for them.

When people say “What has pharmacy done for me?”, they should reflect that a degree in pharmacy is incredibly invaluable. Their standard of living is only possible because of the degree and the membership of the Society.

Membership did not just offer The Pharmaceutical Journal: it was the right to practise in a noble profession. “I am proud. Thank you for your support.”