{{refimprove, date=May 2015 The United Kingdom Clinical Pharmacy Association (UKCPA) is a non-profit organisation which promotes expert practice in medicines management for the benefit of patients, the public and professionals.

Functions

The UKCPA supports pharmacy practitioners to develop and deliver clinical pharmacy. The organisation provides the infrastructure to enable pharmacy practitioner peers to deliver professional education and training across a diverse range of practice interest areas (e.g. infection management, anticoagulation, diabetes/endocrinology, pain management, GP practice, critical care, etc). The UKCPA is organised to build and support communities of practice around interest areas - practitioners can talk to each other on a daily basis in order to solve individual clinical problems or create systems, methods and guidelines to deal with clinical scenarios on a local, regional or even national basis. The UKCPA holds education and training events throughout the UK. The content is provided by coal face clinical practitioners and targeted at various levels of practice, from beginners to expert. The events are accredited by the

Royal Pharmaceutical Society The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPharmS or RPS) is the body responsible for the leadership and support of the pharmacy profession (pharmacists) within England, Scotland, and Wales. It was created along with the General Pharmaceutical Council ...

. Peer-reviewed research posters are displayed at annual conference. The UKCPA draws on its membership to provide expertise on the use of medicines to national organisations such as

NICE Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...

the MHRA, and other professional organisations Expert members are involved in developing professional curricula for workforce development, developing assessment of advanced practice, and are assessors for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Faculty. The UKCPA is a partner of the

, the professional body for the pharmacy profession in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The UKCPA provides a research grant to support its members to develop their research skills. This grant is provided in partnership wit
Pharmacy Research UK

Membership

The UKCPA currently has more than 2,500 members in the UK and overseas from all areas of the profession including hospital, community, academia, and industry, as well as pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working at the interface between primary and secondary care.

History

The organisation was founded in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

in 1981 in response to a need to drive clinical pharmacy practice forward in the UK. Its aim was, and continues to be, to support and encourage excellence, leadership and partnership within clinical pharmacy.

Structure

The UKCPA is largely run by volunteers – the practitioners themselves. Most UKCPA officers (chair, vice-chair and treasurer) are working pharmacy practitioners. The general secretary and general manager are employed by UKCPA. The general committee makes strategic and financial decisions on behalf of the membership. The business management group makes executive decisions and approves expenditure in consultation with the general committee.The structure and governance of UKCPA
/ref> The UKCPA head office is in

where the general manager and administrative team are based.

Interest groups

* Cardiology * Care of the Elderly * Community * Critical Care * Diabetes and Endocrinology * Education and Training * Emergency Care * Foundation Pharmacists * Gastroenterology and Hepatology * GP Practice Pharmacists * Haemostasis, Anticoagulation and Thrombosis * Independent Prescribing * Information Technology * Medicines Safety and Quality * Neurosciences * Pain Management * Pharmacy Infection Network * Respiratory * Rheumatology and Dermatology * Surgery and Theatres * Women's Health

References

Health in Leicestershire Organisations based in Leicestershire Pharmacy organisations in the United Kingdom