The Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK) has confirmed it was not approached by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society about proposals to extend membership to pharmacy technicians. 

APTUK was responding to the RPS' October 5 submission to the UK Commission on Pharmacy Professional Leadership, which set out ambitions to bring pharmacy technicians into its fold to help create a “more unified approach to pharmacy leadership”.

“In particular”, said the RPS, “pharmacists and pharmacy technicians should be represented in the future by a single leadership body comprised of professional faculties”.

APTUK president Claire Steele described the RPS vision statement as "surprising" and said: "For the avoidance of doubt, APTUK did not contribute, nor were we consulted on the content of this submission."

Having recently celebrated its 70-year anniversary, APTUK is the current established professional leadership body for pharmacy technicians across all four nations of the United Kingdom. 

In a statement published on the APTUK website yesterday, the organisation said: “Pharmacy technicians are registered healthcare professionals in their own right; responsible for their own autonomous practice.

"It would not be conducive for harmonious professional relationships for one profession to assume responsibility for another; indeed, this is not the model adopted by any other healthcare profession.

“The RPS states that in order to achieve enhanced roles for pharmacists in the future, there needs to be close collaboration with pharmacy technicians ‘who will be responsible for the provision of medicines to patients.

"This will include the sourcing, dispensing, distribution, and storage of medicines; managing prescription systems, and directly supporting patients to use their medicines through advice and education’. 

“As APTUK has pointed out on many occasions, this is and has been for a long time the role of the pharmacy technician (and in many cases pharmacy support staff under the management of a pharmacy technician)."

The organisation went on to call for an end to “the tokenistic approach to pharmacy technician representation,” adding that whilst they want to collaborate and support all other organisations, they will only do so “as an equal partner”.

To read the statement in full visit: APTUK.