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By Michael Holden.

There is a frequently stated myth that pharmacy has too many representative bodies when compared with other professions. In fact this is not actually true, but what creates this perception is that the pharmacy choir is often not singing from the same song sheet!

Pharmacists, other healthcare professionals and government officials often observe
that medics speak as one, particularly when threatened with change and funding reductions. This is probably true, but that is because the plethora of bodies representing medics generally talk to each other before they act or speak, something our profession often fails to do.

Collaborative working should be joined-up across all sectors of pharmacy and other healthcare professions and recognise that we are all clinicians: some generalist, some specialist. Working together as a virtual pharmacy team with the person/patient at the centre of everything we do and abandoning historical hierarchical views (sometimes it seems like that Two Ronnies sketch with John Cleese), we could achieve much for the profession and hence for patients.

We must leverage the accessibility of community pharmacy and grow the role of the whole profession wherever pharmacists practise within the health and public health systems and thus create a profession to be proud of and a sustainable future for the community sector, which has invested heavily in premises and people.

To achieve this, the RPS, Pharmacy Voice, PSNC, and the negotiating and representative bodies in the devolved countries, must work together on initiatives with governments, the NHS and other healthcare professionals from the outset. We must drop the competition for kudos and being 'first to market' or 'first in the media' and focus on the end in mind €“ a strong profession, a sustainable future for all and a population that lives well for longer.

I accept that this Nirvana is difficult to achieve with a wide range of disciplines and areas of practise within the one profession, but just because it is hard to do doesn't mean we shouldn't try. On Twitter I have recently adopted the #oneprofession hashtag to illustrate my passion and determination to create a momentum for this collaborative environment. We all need to make this happen €“ stronger together.

Mike Holden is an independent consultant.