Public health is a core activity for members working in community practice and those working in speciality and in primary care commissioning roles. Westminster’s recent white paper provided us with an opportunity to champion this work.

We aim to establish and promote pharmacists as one of the key public health resources in the new structure of Public Health England. Through our well reasoned evidence based submission to the ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People’ white paper and our campaign activity aimed at DH and local government we will continue to lobby for pharmacist inclusion.

In Wales we were delighted that the Welsh Assembly Government has now acted to facilitate free emergency hormonal contraception through pharmacy. We look forward to a speedy roll out across pharmacies in Wales. The Society is keen to make sure that through collaboration with bodies such as Faculty of Public Health and Society of Public Health we build on the work done already by pharmacists, enhancing credibility in the public arena for the profession. Collegiate production of professional standards is planned for the future and this, coupled with supportive guidance, for example our recent guide for members on EHC, demonstrates that this is already high on the professional body’s agenda.