Following its first meeting last week, the UK pharmacy professional leadership advisory board has today announced (May 3) that it will publish a report and minutes for all meetings as part of measures to boost “openness and transparency”.
It comes after the board - which currently includes nine ex-officio members, an “independent chair” and ten “independent expert members” - faced criticism that it lacked “transparency” and risked “political interference”.
Read more: 'Appallingly hand-picked cronies': New leadership commission comes under fire
Last week, C+D reported that RPS election candidate and pharmacist Martin Astbury deemed that the board “appallingly consists of several hand-picked appointed cronies” and was “in no way…representative”.
But yesterday (May 2), the board’s chair Sir Hugh Taylor said that its members “are not on the board to represent a sector or specialism”.
Stressing this “critical point”, he added that the “members are on the board to represent all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians”.
“No perfect model”
Sir Taylor admitted that “there is no perfect model out there of a professional leadership body in healthcare”.
“However, what we have here is a great opportunity for pharmacy to shape a model of professional leadership that others can look to as an example of best practice,” he said.
“Although professional leaders will never be immune from criticism, they ultimately need credibility”, he added.
Read more: Former GPhC chair heads up commission on pharmacy professional leadership
He revealed that one ex-officio member highlighted “the importance of how professional leaders are viewed by the wider pharmacy professions”– “she said that leaders must be trusted by those they represent”, he said.
“We need to avoid narrow and divisive approaches when it comes to professional leadership” as that “doesn’t help pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working on the ground”, he added.
“Openness and transparency”
Meanwhile, a report from the group’s first quarterly meeting that took place last week (April 23) announced plans to ensure “openness and transparency”.
“It was agreed that a statement should be published as soon as possible after each board meeting setting out the proceedings of the meeting and conclusions reached,” it said.
Meeting minutes will be published “subsequently, following ratification at the next board meeting”, it added.
Read more: Just 14% believe pharmacy leadership ‘completely fit for purpose’
The leadership board also today published a “register of interests” for all of its members as part of its “commitment” to transparency.
“In addition, for each board meeting, members of the board are required to declare any interests,” the register said.
The decision comes after the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) called for “greater transparency” around the board’s membership and a “full declaration of their interests” last month.
“Full transparency is a basic expectation for this kind of a body,” it stressed at the time.
