Inclusive Pharmacy Practice (IPP)
The national plan for Inclusive Pharmacy Practice (IPP) in England is a joint initiative between the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK) along with 13 other national partner organisations from across the pharmacy sector. IPP focuses on making the workplace more inclusive for all pharmacy staff, with staff in leadership roles that reflect our diverse communities, to improve health inequalities in the population. It involves embedding inclusive pharmacy professional practice into everyday care for people using our services, their families and carers, and members of the public to support the prevention and treatment of ill health, and address health inequalities within our diverse communities. IPP involves open conversations and meaningful actions to improve the experience of both people using our services and all pharmacy staff.
In North East and Yorkshire, we have developed North East and Yorkshire Inclusive Pharmacy Practice Principles: https://www.england.nhs.uk/north-east-yorkshire/north-east-yorkshire-inclusive-pharmacy-practice-ipp/
We have also created an Inclusive Pharmacy Practice Checklist:
We want the Inclusive Pharmacy Practice Principles to be truly inclusive of all sectors of pharmacy. We understand and appreciate that some sectors have their own internal organisational processes. The principles are designed to be used as an aid/ tool, allowing organisations to use it in a way that is appropriate for their organisation. We do not expect organisations to adopt the manifesto verbatim. We are asking all sectors of pharmacy to adopt the principles.
The vision is to make a shift in culture, make this a way of being, this is who we are in pharmacy. A manifesto is just a document, words on a page and some colourful infographics. This cannot be an ‘extra job’, it needs to be a golden thread for everything we do, the way we do things around here. We want to make meaningful, measurable change.