The recent call for election to the new national pharmacy advisory councils is a great opportunity for members to shape the transition of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) into the Royal College of Pharmacy.
This is a once-in-a-generation change that has the potential to significantly enhance the role and profile of our profession. The need for visionary leadership is greater than ever and requires us to elect exceptional leaders drawn from every sector of our profession.
I welcome the stated aim for the election process to be more accessible and inclusive, but I am not sure the recent changes in candidate requirements will facilitate this. Candidates for this round of elections are — for the first time in the history of the Society — required to be registrants of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), as well as members of the RPS. It is an interesting move that ensures we have regulated, predominantly patient-facing pharmacists in every elected role.
However, it will reduce the number of members and fellows eligible to stand, especially from sectors and areas of practice that do not require registration with the GPhC. Could the officers of the Society provide an assessment of how many members and fellows are now excluded from standing for election and whether any particular sector has been particularly, adversely affected?
Is the requirement to be a registrant of the GPhC likely to become a requirement for all members and fellows of the soon to be established royal college?
What would be the impact on the number of members and financial sustainability of the royal college if a requirement for GPhC registration was introduced and all non-registrant members were no longer eligible for membership of the royal college?
Do the officers anticipate a reciprocal arrangement with the GPhC requiring all registrants to be members of the royal college?
Mike Hannay, chief product and supply chain officer at Bicycle Therapeutics
Response from Paul Bennett, chief executive of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Following extensive discussion, Assembly — the governing body of the RPS — decided to make some changes to the nominations criteria for elections to the future Royal College of Pharmacy compared to previous RPS elections. The main reason for these changes is to make the elections as accessible and inclusive as possible to encourage and enable potential leaders from all backgrounds to consider standing.
National pharmacy advisory councils will provide the essential connection between the organisation and professional practice, so it’s vital they contain a range of experiences. For example, candidates now only need to list two RPS members on their nominations form — a proposer and a seconder — instead of ten, which was required previously, to make it easier for those with less established networks to put themselves forward.
Assembly also decided that nominees would need to be current registrants of the GPhC to ensure that all newly elected members — and notably the new president and vice presidents, who will subsequently be elected from this cohort — have current experience of pharmacy services in their country and are able to meet regulatory standards. This decision was made by the Assembly after careful consideration and in the knowledge that valued skills and experiences of past GPhC registrants can still be present in the future royal college governance structure through the appointed roles on the Senate.
The Senate will also have some spaces reserved for particular areas of pharmacy practice and one seat held for an early-careers pharmacist to ensure these important constituencies are represented. Appointments to these Senate roles will take place after the elections have concluded, in order to ensure we appoint individuals who can bring complementary skills and experience to that of the elected members.
We will be able to share further detail on this process in early 2026 and will be keen to engage with any RPS members who are past GPhC registrants and may be interested in hearing more about these roles.
I would like to reassure readers that RPS membership criteria has not changed, and this will not change as RPS transitions to become a royal college. As has always been the case, to be eligible for RPS membership, members and fellows must be either a current or past registrant of the GPhC.
