Wales Pharmacy Research Strategy: 5 year plan (2015-2020)
Mission: To develop a lasting culture within the pharmacy professions which will create a step change improvement in the quality and quantity of research that influences practice and policy to benefit the health of the people of Wales and beyond
The Pharmacy Research Wales: 5 year strategic plan (2015-2020) is led by the All Wales Chief Pharmacists Committee and is the product of a wide reaching consultation process both within and outside of the pharmacy professions.
The strategy sets out recommendations for a more flexible career structure that will combine clinical and research work as routine for those pharmacy professionals who wish to pursue a research career, rather than obliging them to pursue one role at the expense of the other. This will require the provision of integrated training and qualification opportunities together with strong research leadership at national and local levels and a clinical research environment supportive of individuals wishing to pursue research careers at all levels.
The strategy sets out 17 recommendations grouped into 4 themes:
- Culture: Create a culture in which pharmacy professionals recognise the importance of pharmacy research to the health of the nation and the future of the profession.
- Workforce: Develop a flexible and future-proof workforce where research for patient benefit is at the centre of practice.
- Knowledge Sharing: Support the dissemination and application of knowledge through the development of communication infrastructures and lasting partnerships.
- Research Priorities: Identify and prioritise emerging research themes for Pharmacy Wales which improve patient outcomes.
Download the strategy: Pharmacy Research Wales Strategic Action Plan 2015-2020
Update - Scoping Exercise 2017
In November 2015, a 5-year strategic plan was published for Pharmacy Research in Wales. An integral part of this strategy was to develop a research workforce for pharmacy across the managed and non-managed sectors in Wales. In order to fulfil this goal, one of the main recommendations was to ‘establish local research leadership roles,’ initially within each of the eight localities (i.e. seven Local Health Boards, plus one NHS Trust) in Wales.
In order for these new ‘research lead’ roles to be successful, it is important to identify the key attributes required of these individuals. The role will involve leading and facilitating pharmacy research locally. Further educational materials may be required to train the workforce; however, first we need to understand what knowledge, skills, experience and behaviours the ‘pharmacy research leads’ need to demonstrate.
The aim of this scoping exercise was to establish what knowledge, skills, experience and behaviours are required of a pharmacy research lead in order to inform the job specification and provide a framework for the design of a development programme for these new posts.
A half-day workshop was held in March 2017 in order to scope the key attributes required for an individual to be able to effectively lead pharmacy research within each Local Health Board in Wales. Fifteen participants from England and Wales, considered to have expertise in this area, engaged in the workshop activities to prioritise the knowledge, skills, experience and behaviours required for this role.
Download the full report: Pharmacy Research Lead Scoping Report, April 2017
