High-profile guests lined up for Welsh Medicines Safety Conference 2017

Vaughan Gething, Welsh cabinet secretary for health, wellbeing and sport, will deliver the keynote address at the event.

jayne lawrence head of pharmacy at the University of Manchester

Pharmacy in prisons, independent prescribing in the community pharmacy and multidisciplinary team training are all on the agenda for the seventh Welsh Medicines Safety Conference, which will be held in Hensol, near Cardiff, on 29 November 2017.

As in previous years, Vaughan Gething, Welsh cabinet secretary for health, wellbeing and sport, will speak at the event, delivering the keynote address.

Andrew Evans, Wales’ chief pharmaceutical officer, will deliver his reflections on the conference themes and perceived challenges for the future.

Delegates will also discover what the aeronautical and aerospace industries can teach pharmacists about safety in a session delivered by John Watkins, clinical senior lecturer in epidemiology at Cardiff University and a consultant in public health medicine.

Olympic star appearance

The conference line-up also features special guest Sally Gunnell, former Olympic gold medallist and motivational speaker, who will share her views on how pharmacists can develop resilience in the face of change.

Gunnell’s speech will “kick-start RPS Wales’s focus on workplace pressures, which will aim to equip RPS members with the skills and knowledge to look after themselves so they can look after others”, a spokesperson from RPS Wales said.

Jayne Lawrence, head of pharmacy and optometry at University of Manchester and former RPS Chief Scientist, will speak on the theme of personalised medicine. She said: “This year’s event is very topical as we look for new ways to harness science, technology and the skills of the pharmacy profession to improve medicines safety and health outcomes.

“I look forward to joining the influential line-up of speakers to challenge the audience to think about the application of personalised medicines and to ask if this is a new paradigm for healthcare.”

Paul Bennett, president of the RPS, will close the conference. He said: “The theme of medicines safety is something of personal importance to me, having held a number of roles during my own career in pharmacy where, as a superintendent pharmacist, I have been accountable for establishing the policies and procedures associated with good clinical governance and supporting my organisation to implement these, ultimately with the aim of enhancing patient safety in mind.

“The RPS Medicines Safety Conference provides an ideal opportunity for delegates to learn more about the innovative practice and technological developments that are taking place to increase quality of care and patient safety wherever medicines are used.”

Places for the conference are £60 to members and £150 to non-members, and may be reserved here.

Last updated
Citation
The Pharmaceutical Journal, High-profile guests lined up for Welsh Medicines Safety Conference 2017;Online:DOI:10.1211/PJ.2017.20203914

You may also be interested in