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The RPS Innovators Forum will help facilitate the sharing of innovative practice, says David Branford, chair of the English Pharmacy Board

If you haven't yet had a chance, take a look at our independent report, 'Now or never: shaping pharmacy for the future'. Here you'll see a strong steer that the profession needs to focus much more on the provision of clinical care, fully integrated with other primary care providers, in order to ensure its future in the reformed NHS.

The English Board is committed to taking action to ensure the profession, the third largest in healthcare, is deployed as part of the multidisciplinary team providing care to patients, reducing hospital admissions and medicines waste.

So how are we doing it? Firstly, we're setting out the vision reiterated again in the community pharmacy 'Call to Action'. I hope you'll be pleased to hear that most of the submissions made clear that the future is about the provision of clinical care for patients. So why isn't this happening yet and what can we do about it? Well, let me spell out two areas where I think the RPS can and is making a difference.

Positive views

Patients and the public as a whole have positive views about pharmacists and can be our strongest advocates. We should recognise that, of course, we don't get everything right all the time. However, once some of the logistical challenges €“ stock shortages being a fundamental one €“ are removed, the fact is people want to know more about their treatments, how they work and what to do to make sure they stay well. People want more access to pharmacists, not less, and we are working on a patient charter this year to make surethese expectations are spelled out.

The public can be our strongest advocates

Let's spread innovation, not wait for a 'top down' contract solution. Great things are happening locally, but too often I realise that, nationally, these initiatives aren't recognised or spread.

The new RPS Innovators Forum, a group of forward-thinking pharmacists sharing innovative practice and working out how to spread it across England, is designed to help with both of these issues. We are recognising local initiatives and we're looking at helping spread innovation across England. I'd be happy to hear from you about our plans and I hope to see you at this year's RPS conference, where we can debate this further.