A new start – it’s the only way the Royal College can succeed

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The gestation period has been long and overdue — some would argue a decade overdue — but at last, our Royal College of Pharmacy is within sight.

In just a few months, we will have a new and reinvigorated professional leadership body: an organisation with the potential to champion excellence and equip the profession to deliver the highest standards of care for its patients through advanced and specialist areas of practice. 

It also has the potential to effectively advocate on our behalf, to influence policy development and to elevate community pharmacists’ profile to rightfully place us shoulder-to-shoulder alongside colleagues in other medical disciplines.

The process to deliver this has been complex, at times tortuous, and predictably controversial, but the persuasive arguments of advocates have been effective in opposing those offered by others. 

The rationality of their views has been accepted by most of those sufficiently motivated to engage in the debate, and we now stand ready to experience the most radical change since our predecessors founded the Society some 185 years ago. A truly historic moment and a once-in-a-generation event. 

Fragility

The profession should be grateful to the campaigners and supporters, the dedicated people at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the UK Pharmacy Professional Leadership Advisory Board, the leaders of several professional bodies and specialist groups, and every single individual who has contributed to the success of this journey. It is a testament to the energy and determination of our profession that it can demonstrably pull together when the proposition is persuasive.

Yet, in this moment of optimism, we need to stand back and take care to look beyond the many positives. We need to recognise the fragility of any new venture – especially one built on the foundations of an organisation which, it is fair to say, has not been universally respected or valued. 

Many have made the point that the Royal College must signal a step-change in focus, culture and delivery. It definitely must not be seen as just another rebranding of the RPS, because it absolutely should not be that. It must be a complete reincarnation; the bringing about of a new home for our ‘professional soul’ that will reawaken our sense of belonging. 

To be successful, it must offer a proposition that is comprehensive, compelling and valued. It needs to re-engage with those who have felt that membership of the RPS was not for them. And we must ensure that the Royal College is accessible and inclusive for all colleagues – be they undergraduates, those in their foundation year, pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists or pharmacy technicians  – because our strength lies in our collective endeavours, and we all need the support and direction that a respected Royal College will bring.

In return, it will need to draw upon the full and diverse knowledge base available across all sectors, roles and levels of experience.

Reasons to believe

It would, of course, be unrealistic to expect the full potential of the Royal College to be evident when its doors open in April. 

A key determinant of its success will be the establishment over time of meaningful and mutually beneficial collaborative arrangements with others, so its willingness to actively pursue and investigate these in good faith will be crucial. The models for engagement and the ways of working with other professional groups will need to evolve at a pace agreeable to all parties, and this is already clear in the words and actions of those involved in co-creating the future organisation. 

It is also true to say that the prospectus for the Royal College must unequivocally make clear to present and potential members the tangible difference it will make to their professional lives and, in turn, those of their patients. There must be a perceptibly attractive offer from day one. The challenge will be to ensure that this will be sufficiently convincing to place clear blue water between the outgoing and incoming organisations. Words of encouragement and promises of a better future have their place, but actions always speak louder. 

Aspirational

In all the necessary changes to its governance and constitution, the RPS must not lose sight of the endgame. Membership of our Royal College should be aspirational. This is a ‘hearts and minds’ moment. People are waiting to be convinced and looking for inspiration. They need to be motivated by the case for membership and a call to action to invest in it. It would be a failure of collective leadership to allow this opportunity to slip away. 

We need a new beginning, a clean break, a fresh start and – more than anything else – we need reasons to believe. Reasons which finally place beyond any doubt the overwhelming case for a well supported, reinvigorated, credible and respected professional leadership body. An organisation which is truly representative of the whole of our profession; an organisation which instils a level of pride so strong that it would be unthinkable not to support it. 

• Steve Churton is a past president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.