The theme of this year’s International Pharmaceutical Federation’s World Pharmacists Day on the 25 September 2021 is ‘Pharmacy: Always trusted for your health’.
In acknowledgement of World Pharmacists Day, Dr Jim Livingstone, President of the Pharmaceutical Society NI, has made the following statement:
“On World Pharmacists Day, I wish to pay tribute to the vital contribution pharmacists and their teams make to patient care by delivering health services to the people of Northern Ireland in multiple settings. Pharmacists’ increasingly important and evolving roles have been particularly evident in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pharmacists in all sectors have risen to the challenges posed by the emergency by adapting and increasing their services while continuing to prioritise patient safety.
“Pharmacists are one of the most trusted and accessible front line health professions in Northern Ireland and beyond and it is right that they should be recognised in this way. Evidence has repeatedly shown that maintaining this trust is essential in ensuring positive health outcomes for patients.
“The public’s trust is not only based on the expert knowledge of pharmacists but also in the confidence that pharmacists have patients’ best interests at heart and maintain their professionalism at all times.
“Modern, effective and proportionate regulation of pharmacy also has a crucial role in maintaining public trust. Ensuring the standard of pharmacists entering the Register, and the continued professionalism and development of pharmacists on the Register, is vitally important as is an independent and impartial method of investigating and resolving concerns that a pharmacist’s fitness to practise may be impaired. Effective regulation helps maintain patient safety and supports the continuing public trust in the profession of pharmacy.
“To ensure that we continue to play our part effectively, we will continue to work with the public, pharmacists, employers and other stakeholders in Northern Ireland to maintain and develop the public’s trust in pharmacy.”
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Notes to editors
The Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland is the regulatory body for pharmacists in Northern Ireland. Our primary purpose is to ensure practicing pharmacists in Northern Ireland are fit to practise, keep their skills and knowledge up to date and deliver high quality, safe care to patients.
For further information please contact Mark Neale at the Pharmaceutical Society NI on 028 9026 7933 or mark.neale@psni.org.uk