Dozens of women pharmacy leaders gathered in the House of Lords on Tuesday (9 June), including National Pharmacy Association members, to celebrate the contribution of women in pharmacy to the nation’s health.
Approximately 60% of pharmacists and 85% of pharmacy technicians are women.
Speakers at the event were: newly appointed Health Minister Preet Kaur Gill MP, Baroness Redfern, NPA Vice Chair Sukhi Basra and Taiwo Owatemi MP, who is currently the only female pharmacist in the House of Commons.
Preet Kaur Gill praised women pharmacists for being the “lifeblood” of the community pharmacy workforce. She called out the problem of aggression towards pharmacy staff by some patients and highlighted progress in improving access to the morning after pill and the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
Whilst recognising that the financial uplifts in the England pharmacy contract do “not constitute a silver bullet” to the sector’s challenges, she insisted that “we are laying the foundations for an historic shift from hospital to community”.
Talking after the event, Sukhi Basra said:
“We gathered to celebrate the contribution of women in pharmacy, but also to give a boost to female pharmacy leadership in the sector, by bringing people together to learn from one another and establish networks of mutual support.
“I had the opportunity to tell my own story about becoming a pharmacist and my journey to becoming Vice Chair of the National Pharmacy Association – standing on the shoulders of wonderful women who have served in leadership positions before at the NPA and elsewhere.”
In April, following representations by the NPA and others, the government announced that pharmacies will be commissioned to provide catch up HPV vaccinations as part of the Women's Health Strategy
