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The Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) has said it will recommend that pharmacists should vote against the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s (RPS’s) royal college proposals, unless what it calls the “hastily convened ballot” is called off.
In a statement published on 7 March 2025, the PDA said delaying a vote “would allow more time for this proposal to be properly reconsidered and amended where necessary”.
“The PDA believes that it is much better to delay this matter and get it right than to hastily rush into it and get it wrong,” it added.
The RPS is due to open a special resolution vote on its proposals on 13 March 2025.
The statement was published alongside results from a survey of PDA members and non-members carried out from 18–25 February 2025 on the royal college proposals, to which 2,155 responses were received.
Two-thirds of the survey respondents (67%) said they either did not feel very well informed, or not at all informed, about the RPS proposals.
The results also revealed that “around 28%” were “supportive” of the proposals, with “over 16%” saying they were “unsupportive” and “over 55%” taking a neutral position.
Just under half of respondents to the survey (44%) said they were current RPS members, of whom 55% said they would remain a member if the society did move to become a royal college.
A small proportion (6%) said they would not remain a member of the Society, while 39% said they were “unsure”.
Just under one-third of respondents (30%) thought the RPS becoming a royal college would benefit the profession. A smaller proportion (16%) thought it would not benefit the profession, while 54% said they were ”unsure”.
The RPS said it was “disappointed” by the PDA’s position.
In an open letter published on 10 March 2025, the Society said: “The RPS has been open about the progress of the constitution and governance review at every stage. The proposals for change and the principles behind them have been the subject of numerous member communications during 2024 and leading up to the special resolution vote, not least during the engagement roadshows held during October and November [2024]. The report of which can be found here.
“Our proposals for change and special resolution vote have been put forward following a democratic process, during which elected members of Assembly have reviewed, amended and unanimously approved the proposals for change. In addition, colleagues then sitting on the three national pharmacy boards emphatically supported the proposals for change and the strengthening of their professional leadership body.”
On 6 March 2025, the UK Pharmacy Professional Leadership Advisory Board — which is made up of representatives from several bodies, including the RPS — issued a statement in support of the royal college proposal, calling it a “historic opportunity to raise the profile of pharmacy in the UK for the long term”.
The special resolution voting period runs between 13 March 2025 and 24 March 2025. More information about the proposals can be found on the RPS website.
