Chief Pharmaceutical Officer visits School of Pharmacy

The Department of Health’s Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, Dr Keith Ridge, visited the School of Pharmacy on the 28^th of March at the invitation of PharmSoc. He spoke to an audience of staff and students from the School about some of the challenges and opportunities facing the profession of Pharmacy in the rapidly changing UK healthcare environment.

Keith reviewed the role of the Pharmacist in the 100 years since the National Insurance bill first separated prescribing from dispensing. He outlined recent White Papers which will shape Government policy in this area and emphasised the important contribution that Pharmacists will make in optimising the use of medicines to deliver improved quality, value and outcomes for patients and the public. He also spoke about forthcoming changes to Pharmacy education and training to support the future of Health Service delivery in England.

PharmSoc treasurer Kathyrn Fleming invited Keith to visit the School, with a little help from her local MP who happens to be the Chancellor of the Exchequer. She commented: "The Student Pharmacy Society aims to provide students with academic opportunities and events outside the course, which involve inviting external speakers to the School. We usually have events on different Pharmacy careers but this time decided to arrange for a member of the Department of Health to visit to talk about the Pharmacy profession and its development nationwide. As the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, Dr Keith Ridge seemed the obvious choice. He gave an excellent talk on the development of Pharmacy services and the changes they hope to make to the Pharmacy degree, which was both interesting and relevant to undergraduates, postgraduates and academic staff alike."

During his visit, Keith also met with Professor Claire Anderson and Dr Matthew Boyd  from the School to hear about the plans for its new MPharm undergraduate course. Later he joined undergraduate students at the Pre-Registration Careers Roadshow where future employers meet current MPharm students to discuss their pre-registration employment programmes.

Dr Keith Ridge  became Chief Pharmaceutical Officer at the Department of Health in March 2006. A registered Pharmacist since 1988, he advises on Pharmacy not just in the DH but across Government.