Participation from pharmacy in shaping future royal college strategy ‘critical’, RPS conference delegates told

There is still time to help the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) shape its future royal college strategy, Karen Baxter, deputy chief executive of the RPS, has said.

Speaking at the Society’s annual conference, held at Convene, Houndsditch in London on 7 November 2025, Baxter told delegates that it is “absolutely vital that this strategy illustrates what the entire sector wants and what’s right for pharmacy, so these engagement exercises are really critical”.

Baxter presented early findings of royal college engagement exercises conducted in summer and autumn 2025, including in-person conferences, webinars and the RPS’s dedicated feedback email address.

“The feedback email is still open, so if you feel that you haven’t yet had the opportunity to comment on our strategy and there are things that you would like to input, please do,” she said.

Baxter also stressed that the subject line for any emailed feedback should be marked as ‘STRATEGY’.

In findings shared at the conference session, the pharmacy sector, as part of engagement, had been asked to prioritise five commitments set out by the RPS, which are things that it committed to do as a royal college.

Of these, the commitment rated highest so far was to “advance pharmacists to provide excellence in patient care” with 22.3% of the delegates prioritising it, followed by “put patients at the forefront of our work” with 22.1% .

During the conference, Baxter also shared slides, which revealed what the sector felt were the biggest challenges and opportunities facing pharmacy over the next five years. Among challenges identified were anxiety and uncertainty around a transitional period where the role of the pharmacist is evolving and an increased need for protected learning time.

In terms of opportunities, people had highlighted greater involvement and closer contact in patient care and more integrated neighbourhood working, as well as the expansion of consultant and advanced practice pathways.

Baxter said that the RPS will be doing a deep dive into all the input over winter 2025 and early 2026, with the draft strategy being agreed by the Trustee Board.

The strategy is due to be published soon after the royal college launch in April 2026, she added.