As a leadership body, the PDA works hard to engage with all such decision makers to ensure that they hear the collective voice of employed and locum pharmacists and understand the reality of practice, its challenges and its opportunities.
Following the result of the Senedd election in Wales, there is an inevitable change to the individuals responsible for the health portfolio, and the PDA looks forward to working with Mabon ap Gwynfor MS, the new Health & Social Care Secretary and his team. Likewise, while the lead party in the Scottish Parliament remains the same, it could be that the ministerial team there changes too.
The situation in Westminster is slightly different in that the last general election was in 2024, and the current government came to power promising stability. Huge changes have been implemented both in policy terms through the NHS 10-year plan, and structurally through the abolition of NHS England. Changes at Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) are putting pharmacists through significant personal career changes, sometimes chaotically, which will have an impact on their roles, their own wellbeing and ultimately how the public accesses care. The resignation of the Secretary of State for Health, Wes Streeting could create some uncertainty around the delivery of ongoing reforms and policy priorities.
The PDA welcomes new Health Secretary James Murray, noting he is now the ninth health secretary in the last 8 years and that if there is a change of Prime Minister it is likely cabinet positions will be reviewed again at that time.
The NHS is one of each country’s most important public institutions and the employer of thousands of pharmacists. Strong leadership at the top has a direct bearing on public confidence, workforce morale and the quality-of-care people receive. When leadership changes too frequently, the effects can be felt far beyond government and management structures, reaching frontline staff, local services and the communities that depend on them most.
PDA members want to see a stable and well-supported NHS leadership environment that allows pharmacists to deliver, patients to feel confident in the services they rely on, and long-term improvements to be delivered effectively.
The Health Service Journal (HSJ) have reported today that forty-eight people have served as ministers in the Department of Health and Social Care in the 11 years since the 2015 general election. That is a shocking statistic and demonstrates why pharmacists and their patients in England desperately need the stability which was promised.
The PDA is calling for an orderly transition in health leadership, continued focus on NHS priorities, and meaningful engagement with frontline pharmacists’ representatives to protect patient care and maintain workforce confidence.
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