The opening conference for the Advanced Pharmacy Leadership Programme, which was held in Cardiff at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) offices, recently took place.
The 15-month programme is designed to develop effective leadership skills through a mix of learning through action, executive coaching and project work.
A variety of expert speakers contributed over the two-day conference, including Dr Andrew Goodall, Director General for the NHS in Wales, Mair Davies, the Director of RPS Wales and Mark Drakeford AM, Minister for Health and Social Services.
The conference provided an overview of the current steers and challenges in the NHS and highlighted areas of priority for the delegates and their teams.
A key issue for the conference was pharmacy’s role in the application of prudent healthcare. The Minster talked through the underpinning principles and how we can support a cultural shift to consistently meet them in practice.
He highlighted the importance of pharmacy’s contribution, that we are ‘the front door and should operate at the top end of our clinical license. We have a responsibility to be co-partners with patients, pharmacists are good at those conversations.’
