EXCLUSIVE

Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) director for Wales Mair Davies sets out her three aims for 2016:

1. Engage politicians before elections

Pharmacists should "grasp [the] great opportunity" to engage politicians ahead of the upcoming Welsh Assembly elections in May, Ms Davies told C+D in an exclusive interview last week (January 14). 

The RPS in Wales will provide its members with guidance on how to “engage with the political machinery”, and will talk to key Assembly Members about the sector's value, she said.

The organisation hopes that whoever is elected will champion read-write access to patient records for pharmacists in Wales, and commission a pharmacy-led chronic medication service, Ms Davies said.

2. Austerity means pharmacists will have to “work smarter”

Government belt-tightening in Wales will force pharmacists to “deliver more with [fewer] resources” this year, she said.

Pharmacists will have to “work smarter” to deliver patient care, which means working closer with GPs and in multidisciplinary teams to make the “best use of resources across the NHS”, she added.

3. Pharmacists working alongside care home staff

Pharmacists in Wales have a “greater role to play” in caring for patients in care homes, Ms Davies said. The sector can train residential staff and review medication when patients are moved into a care home for the first time, she said.

Offering discharge medication reviews (DMRs) would also improve patient safety for these patients, she added.

How do you think Welsh pharmacy will change this year?

We want to hear your views, but please express them in the spirit of a constructive, professional debate. For more information about what this means, please click here to see our community principles and information