It has been another challenging year for pharmacy teams as they have continued to play a vital role in protecting the public against COVID-19. We have heard many stories of amazing efforts and professional dedication in keeping services open and accessible, as well as of the quantities of vaccines administered.
Our Vision 2030 is one of safe and effective pharmacy care at the heart of healthier communities. During the pandemic, pharmacies have shown how they are indeed at the heart of their communities, providing safe and effective care to people in extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
As an organisation we have focused on providing extra support to pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy owners during this time, to help them continue to provide safe and effective care. We've had to adapt and respond quickly to changing circumstances and demands, including new ways of working. This has affected the first two years of implementing our five-year strategic plan and our ten-year vision. However, our priority is still to ensure safe and effective pharmacy care for all. We are proud of our staff and the pharmacy teams across Great Britain who have been working tirelessly to achieve this.
We know that as professionals, the first concern of the people on our register is the care of their patients and the people who use their services. Throughout the pandemic, we have been impressed by the commitment and passion shown by pharmacy professionals and pharmacy owners in response to the challenges they have faced.
patients and the people who use their services.
Throughout the pandemic, we have been
impressed by the commitment and passion
shown by pharmacy professionals and
pharmacy owners in response to the challenges
they have faced.
One of our key priorities has been to support pharmacy teams to continue to provide safe and effective care to everyone. For example:
We continued to relax the revalidation requirements for pharmacy professionals into 2022 (with full revalidation due to be reinstated in October 2022).
We paused routine inspections of pharmacies during periods of high COVID-19 cases and significant pressures.
Our inspectors focused on supporting pharmacies in rolling out the vaccination programme. We have also continued to share examples of good practice – how pharmacies have successfully managed challenges and effectively delivered services throughout the pandemic – for others to learn from.
Throughout the pandemic, we have continued to act quickly on any information we have received which suggested a risk to patient safety. We have carried out inspections and taken enforcement action when it was appropriate.
We have had to be flexible in our approach over the last two years, as have many organisations, and some of our plans and timescales have had to change. But we have also kept up our work