09 July 2026
Earlier this year, we published guidance to support job planning for advanced and consultant pharmacists in paediatric, adolescent and adult rheumatology services. This guidance was developed in response to growing recognition of the expanding role of specialist pharmacists, alongside evidence of significant variation in how these roles are planned and supported.
A national BSR-led survey found that only half of rheumatology pharmacists had a formal job plan, with many reporting insufficient protected time for professional development and increasing workplace pressures. To address this, the guidance aims to provide a consistent framework for job planning, helping pharmacists, specialty leads and line managers balance clinical responsibilities with leadership, education, research and service improvement to support sustainable, high-quality patient care.
Since then, we’ve been disseminating the guidance across the UK, writing to national Chief Pharmaceutical Officers for all four nations, and regional Chief Pharmacists in England. We’ve had a positive response from pharmacy leaders who have welcomed the guidance and offered to support its promotion and consistent uptake. This has included meetings with Richard Cattell, Deputy Chief Pharmaceutical Officer of England, and Northern Ireland’s Heads of Pharmacy and Medicine Management.
"We're encouraged by the positive engagement we've received from pharmacy leaders across the UK, who have offered their support, sharing the guidance locally and among national networks. For them, this guidance is a practical tool to support specialist workforce development and retention, as well as medicines optimisation. We will continue our work to support adoption and implementation of the guidance. " - Sarah Campbell, BSR CEO
We will continue working with pharmacy leaders and rheumatology services across the UK to facilitate adoption of the guidance and further support its implementation. We also plan to gather feedback from pharmacists and services using the guidance to understand its impact and identify opportunities for future updates. In the meantime, if you have a practical example of using it in your service that we can share with others, please do get in touch with us at policy@rheumatology.org.uk.