The 2019 IPU National Pharmacy Conference took place on 10 – 12 May in the Galmont Hotel in Galway, City of Tribes. We were delighted to bring the IPU conference to the west of Ireland and deliver one of the best conferences yet. The weather did not disappoint and throughout the weekend there was a great atmosphere throughout the hotel. We had a very exciting and extensive agenda for attendees to enjoy this year, which included the Plenary Session, the Panel Discussion and all of the engaging sessions in between. Ciara Browne, Communications and Events Executive, IPU, gives an overview of the weekend.

The theme for the ninth annual IPU conference was Community Pharmacy: Maximising Our

Potential, a theme that was chosen to reflect how patients and the whole of the healthcare system can benefit from community pharmacists working at their full scope of practice. Pharmacists and pharmacy staff from all

over the country travelled to Galway to enjoy the high-level programme of events, including our extensive business and clinical sessions that were delivered by engaging speakers.

We coordinated with APPEL to host a Preceptor training session for community pharmacists on the Friday afternoon. Pharmacists who wanted to act as one of the

first Preceptors in Ireland were able to undertake this training at the conference to be able to support 4th-year student pharmacists on their journey to practice. Our first business session was from Alan McCormick from hmR Ireland, titled Maximising the Return from your Dispensary Data – a hmR Presentation, which showed how hmR’s Pharmacy Platform

The 2019 IPU National Pharmacy Conference

IPU CONFERENCE 2019 Ciara Browne, Communications and Events Executive, IPU

IPUREVIEW JUNE 201920

can identify opportunities within the data to help pharmacists unlock hidden profit potential, including generic opportunities. Our first clinical session was delivered by Séamus Ruane, community pharmacist in Galway on 5 Ways to Increase Your Wellbeing at Work (No Matter How Busy You Are). A key take-home from this session was the Roadmap for Flourishing and how this can be achieved through Positivity, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Achievement and Vitality (PERMA-V). There was another clinical session on Friday, which was sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb and

was titled The Pharmacist in Atrial Fibrillation Clinic . . . A Model of Care. This session gave a better understanding of atrial fibrillation, its diagnosis, complications and treatment and was delivered by Edwina Morrissey, Senior Clinical Pharmacist and Rónán Collins MD, Consultant in Geriatric Medicine and Co-Director of the Interdisciplinary AF Clinic, both from Tallaght University Hospital. During this session there was also a patient advocate who discussed her experience with AF.

There was a great start on Saturday morning, with Jay Patel, pharmacist and Executive Director, Day Lewis

Above: Attendees at the IPU National Pharmacy Conference. Right: Minister for Health Simon Harris TD and IPU President Daragh Connolly.

the problems encountered around the availability of palliative care medicines in the community. After our Plenary Session (which is also detailed in this article) we had a session on Economic Trends in 2019 and How they May Affect the Pharmacy Sector, which was delivered by Economist Jim Power and was in association with Moore Wealth Management. Jim addressed current international issues, Brexit, the Irish economy and domestic issues in his presentation. We also had a session sponsored by A.Menarini on Eczema Diagnosis and Treatment: Tips and Tricks for the Community Pharmacist, delivered by GP and pharmacist Dr Paul Ryan. This very informative session explored the anatomy of epidermis, eczema as a barrier dysfunction, potencies of topical corticosteroids, atopic eczema, contact dermatitis, seborrhoeic eczema and emollients.

Our session on Saturday afternoon was our keynote address, delivered by pharmacist and motivational speaker Jack Kavanagh. Jack gave an incredibly moving and emotional talk, where he let the audience hear his own personal story from surviving to thriving in life – a session titled Leading Through Adversity.

Sessions continued Sunday morning with a talk from Susan Madden, Principal, South East College, on Leading, Delegating, Communicating – How will you Manage?

Plc, delivering a fantastic session on how to Transform your Business using People, Process and Technology, which looked at what is innovation, what is value, what are customers and how you can keep your business lean and make your customers happy. Our parallel clinical session on Saturday morning was delivered by Karen McKee, Chief Pharmacist, Galway Hospice Foundation, and was titled The Role of the Community Pharmacy Team in Supporting Palliative Care at Home. This session was in association with Galway Hospice and explored the more commonly used palliative care medicines, the use of the syringe driver and

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This session focussed on how, as a community pharmacist, you are not just a health professional but also a manager and a leader of a team of people within a pharmacy – the role of a pharmacist is a position of responsibility and with it comes assumed obligation. Our clinical session on Sunday morning was The Challenges Presented by Breast Cancer Survivors taking Antihormone Medication and was presented by Elizabeth Summersby, RANO Oncology, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. Elizabeth highlighted the context of breast cancer management in Ireland, the follow-up of breast cancer patients post initial treatment, the potential side-effects of Tamoxifen and Aromatase inhibitors and its impact on patient’s HRQOL, the issue of compliance in this patient cohort and the management of side-effects arising from these medications.

A certificate of attendance will be sent to all pharmacists who attended sessions for their CPD ePortfolio.

We also hosted a CPD session for pharmacy technicians, which covered Support and Care for Cancer Patients. Qualified technicians arrived for the talk, which was delivered by pharmacist and trainer Sheila O’Driscoll, who gave an overview of the appropriate use of anti-emetics and other ancillary treatments prescribed for patients receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy, as well as how to advise patients on how to maintain good general health and what to do if they feel unwell.

Plenary SessionThe Plenary Session was a huge success this year and was delivered to a packed room. The theme for the Plenary Session correlated with the overall conference theme of Community Pharmacy: Maximising Our Potential. Darragh O’Loughlin chaired the session and welcomed all of the attendees and invited guests to the session before welcoming IPU President Daragh Connolly to deliver his opening remarks and the Minister for Health Simon Harris TD to address attendees.

Opening Remarks from IPU President Daragh Connolly”Good morning everyone and a warm welcome to you all.

Minister Harris, honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen, colleagues and friends.

Firstly, on behalf of the Irish Pharmacy Union, I would like to thank the Minister for Health, Simon Harris TD, for travelling to be with us today at our Annual Conference here in Galway. We are truly delighted, Minister, that you have made this effort to meet with community pharmacists, IPU members, and our invited guests, to listen to our concerns and issues and, no doubt, to contribute to the lively debate and discussions that will take place this morning. I also want to thank our eminent speakers who have travelled from Canada, Scotland and Northern Ireland in order to share their experiences and expertise. You are all very welcome to Ireland and to Galway.

As the Minister for Health is someone who appreciates plain speaking, I am going to speak plainly. There is an elephant in this room. That elephant is called FEMPI and it is, unfortunately, too well

IPU President Daragh Connolly; Dr Ross T. Tsuyuki, University of Alberta; Minister for Health Simon Harris TD; Margaret Wing, Alberta Pharmacists’ Association (RxA); Terence A. Maguire, Pharmacist and Honorary Senior Lecturer, Queen’s University Belfast; and Darragh O’Loughlin, Secretary General, IPU.

Jim Power, Economist

known by every pharmacist in Ireland. Its weight is crippling our profession and our ability as healthcare professionals to deliver the healthcare solutions our communities so desperately need.

It is no exaggeration to say that the ongoing FEMPI cuts, which to date have amounted to €1,500 million, have left many pharmacists questioning whether they see a future for themselves within the profession. In that time of austerity, the need for

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our services has increased, as has the regulatory and administrative workload, leading to a situation where pharmacists are now doing far more work for considerably less, an average of €200,000 per pharmacy per year.

Research carried out by EY-DKM in 2017 proved that pharmacies located in areas of highest social and healthcare need were the most reliant on State fees for providing those services to their communities. As a result of the inadequacy of those fees, they are the least sustainable. 300 pharmacies in rural, disadvantaged and isolated areas are unviable and will close unless they see an increase in funding for their professional services.

The impact of the emergency legislation on pharmacy incomes and the failure to address the issue is disproportionate, unfair and inequitable.

In light of the very substantial unwinding of FEMPI cuts to public sector salaries and the recent announcement of substantial increases in funding for General Practice, pharmacists are now reminiscent of Cinderella. We have quietly and efficiently laboured to make Primary Care work for those who need it most in the communities where we are the first point of contact for healthcare.

The 2016 Programme for Government committed to expanding the role of

the pharmacist within two years, but little has been done. The IPU fought hard for that commitment and has consistently put forward constructive proposals to the Department aimed at enhancing access to care and improving patient outcomes and value for money – 30 separate instances, generally without receiving any response. Like Cinderella.

Minister, you are probably sensing the frustration that my colleagues and I feel. We have done everything to try and advance the case for supporting and resourcing pharmacists to practise to full scope and to enhance our contribution to healthcare but have come up against a wall of inertia. By not allowing us to practise to the full scope of our abilities, the very future of the profession is threatened. Young pharmacists are not entering community pharmacy due to the health system’s failure to allow them do what they have been trained to do, particularly when they see how their colleagues in other jurisdictions can work.

We need to avoid letting our frustration become disillusionment. We don’t want to believe that the only way to get Government’s attention and to make progress is through protest, obstruction, and non-cooperation, although it does appear that this approach has worked very well for many

others, including some of our healthcare colleagues. We want to believe that there is a higher road, and that it too will lead us to a positive outcome.

Minister, we warmly welcomed the opportunity to finally meet with you in March this year. We outlined our willingness, our ability and our determination to provide constructive and innovative solutions to many of the capacity and access problems that bedevil the health service. The IPU and our members strongly welcomed your clear commitment at that meeting to begin, this September, a process to bring about reform, modernisation and contractual overhaul for community pharmacy – to “move to higher terrain”.

We have had a very positive and constructive engagement with Laura Magahy and her team in Sláintecare. We look forward to exploring and agreeing on a broader scope of practice for pharmacists to provide Irish patients with access to safe, locally-provided, high quality healthcare, aligned fully with the vision set out in Sláintecare – whether by expanding our vaccination services, by reducing barriers for women accessing contraception, or by rolling out a pharmacy-based Minor Ailment Scheme. Most importantly, we urgently need to place community pharmacy on a stable financial footing

to sustain a vital healthcare service providing accessible care and support to patients and the public in every town, village and community throughout Ireland.

Minister, you have shown that when you are determined to get something done, you get it done – whether that is reforming reproductive healthcare for Irish women; securing a once-in-a-generation agreement with general practice; or pushing back against the dangerous falsehoods of the anti-vaxxers and reversing the previous decline in uptake of the HPV vaccine. The IPU is a proud member of the HPV Vaccination Alliance and our members have played their part in promoting and advocating for this and other life-saving vaccines.

In your own words, Minister, you have consigned FEMPI to the history books for GPs and secured the future of their profession. We ask you now to apply that same determination to securing the future of community pharmacy as a valuable, accessible, healthcare hub at the centre of primary care and at the heart of communities nationwide.

We look forward to beginning our long-awaited substantive engagement in September and continuing to work constructively with you and your Department. We hope to have you back at our conference this time next

Karen McKee, Chief Pharmacist, Galway Hospice Foundation

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year, to announce significant progress on developing and future-proofing pharmacy services and a fair deal on funding. Indeed, we expect nothing less.

Finally, Minister, on behalf of myself and the IPU, I would like to thank you once again for coming here this morning to hear us, to listen and to officially launch the 2019 IPU National Pharmacy Conference. We all know that the tale of Cinderella had a happy ending: Prince Charming saw past her sisters to find where the shoe fit best. It is time now for all of us to move beyond fairy tales and get down to enacting real change.”

Minister’s Speech “I am delighted to join you this morning, and I thank your Secretary General, Darragh O’Loughlin, and President, Daragh Connolly, for the invitation to address the 2019 IPU conference.

I very much hear your frustrations, not just hearing them today but also at our most recent engagement in March. You refer to a wall of inertia, and my commitment is to work with you to begin to dismantle the walls of inertia. We have shown that when we both work collaboratively, we have a real ability to get things done.

I accept that we have a very big agenda of things that we need to get done and the top of that agenda has to be ensuring the sustainability of

community pharmacy.The role community

pharmacy plays in delivering health services to our citizens is a vital one.

We now have some 1,850 contracted pharmacies, an increase of about 15% in the last decade, providing comprehensive national coverage and accessible local care, often with strong and long-term relationships with patients.

The expertise and skills that pharmacists bring to their work provides care that is very much at the frontline – in communities and face-to-face with patients on a day-to-day basis, as well as working closely with prescribers – with the interests of patients to the fore.

The theme for this year’s Plenary Session is Community Pharmacy: Maximising Our Potential. For me, this applies across all aspects of health service delivery in Ireland, but it is particularly apt for contracted health professionals.

I note the strong Canadian and Northern flavour to the session, providing a focus beyond clinical practice in Irish community pharmacy. I hope there will be robust discussions today, on the many directions available for the development of community pharmacy and on its relationship to patients and healthcare delivery in Ireland, both professional and commercial. I am confident that the Irish pharmacy community has as much to offer, as to absorb in this.

There is a principle that many of you have heard me talk about – I mentioned it last time I was here – the need for a decisive shift of health services to primary care, so that our citizens can receive appropriate care close to their home communities.

It is a cornerstone of Sláintecare. And in towns and villages throughout this country, you can be the shopfront of Sláintecare.

Our patients should get safe and clinically effective treatments early, at the lowest level of complexity and as close to home as possible. People should also have practical opportunities to develop their self-care – looking after their own health as far as possible.

When we talk about providing patients with care locally, that can no longer mean that every pathway must bring you to a doctor. I say this with the greatest respect to our GP colleagues, with whom we have launched a massive package of investment for General Practice.

But we have got to look at the role that everybody plays in the community, and we can’t bring everything back to what more work can the GPs do, when we know that groups like pharmacists have the competency, qualifications and scope of practice, and a willingness to do more.

Community pharmacy has a key role in this type of health provision, for both private and public patients, and much is already being delivered.

Service Development in Community PharmacyI know that there is an appetite in community pharmacy to take on more clinical responsibility. The standard of education and career expectations of pharmacists require Government to seriously consider how the potential of this valuable resource might be maximised.

I will be the first to admit that progress in developing pharmacy services has not been all that you or I might wish for. However, there is significant common ground.

But we now need a momentum. That is why I am particularly pleased that Laura Magahy, Director of Sláintecare, will be with you this afternoon, because there are some things we have done on a pilot basis that we now know work. We know the Minor Ailment Scheme works. I’m fed up hearing about evaluating the Minor Ailment Scheme. We know it works. We don’t need a pilot. We need a much broader Minor Ailment Scheme and we need to very much embed that in Sláintecare and we had discussions when we met in March on how we might do that with the Health Research Board’s assistance as well.

There have been positive developments and very welcome collaboration, including on Brexit and on the Falsified Medicines Directive, as well as on emergency contraception and flu vaccination, both of which have been very successful.

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I understand that your executive has been an ‘early adopter’ on Sláintecare and has already been in to talk to the Sláintecare team about where community pharmacy might contribute to redeveloping health service delivery.

I especially wish to acknowledge the extensive contribution from the IPU and its membership on our Brexit preparations. Brexit, in whatever form it may take, will be a challenge for us all.

I thank IPU members for their continuing assistance in disseminating our important Brexit messages and engaging with patients, so that patients have and will remain reassured about their medicine supplies.

Other areas where we can discuss working together include self-care, managing patient medication regimes, access to contraception, electronic prescribing, the use of medicines expertise with prescribers, and minor and chronic disease management.

Pharmacy services are provided through private contractors and this has served us well. Our priority now is on public health needs that are not addressed elsewhere, or where community pharmacy would provide better access, better health outcomes and better value for money.

So, the debate must be about what can you provide that is not provided to date. What added value can community pharmacists bring to the health service or what

can pharmacists provide better or more effectively than is being provided elsewhere today.

Expansion of community pharmacy services is an important part of better primary care provision, built around the foundation of your core function as medicines experts - a safe and professional environment for dispensing medicines to patients.

New Service Developments This journey to expand the range of services has begun, and, as you know, it must be accompanied by developments in governance and transparency.

There has been considerable work and investment in upgraded electronic interaction in recent years. I acknowledge the IPU’s support and assistance in working towards closing these issues, which are an important component in progressing service development.

Pharmacy ContractI know that your members have taken a keen interest in the recent agreement with the IMO on GP service development and reform. This agreement, which is still under consideration by IMO members, is the outcome of a detailed – some might say protracted – engagement between my Department, the HSE and the IMO.

My commitment to you today, my commitment to the IPU and to the members of the IPU, is that this year let’s

start our discussions on a new pharmacy contract, let’s start a discussion on how we move beyond FEMPI and let’s start our discussion in relation to a programme of investment. I think I have shown through my engagement with GPs that when I say I want to do this I will get it done and investment will come with it.

What I am saying to you now is that following on from the engagement that I had with GPs, I am very much up to having a similar engagement with pharmacists and with the IPU. And let’s get that done this year.

But I am confident we have a lot of goodwill and common ground between us and we can make progress.

I just want to reference two other issues this morning, one you referenced yourself President, and is the issue of vaccinations. I need your help in calling out the lies and the agenda, and the misinformation that is going to harm our children if we don’t get on top of it. You have shown huge leadership when it comes to vaccinations, and I am asking the IPU to redouble those efforts.

The second is the issue of contraception. I am not satisfied in Ireland that availability is the same as accessibility when it comes to contraception. Contraception is widely available but it does not mean it is accessible to every woman in our country, and we need to look at how we can do better in this regard, and we need to look at how we can break down barriers

Pictured above from left:Laura Magahy, Executive Director at Sláintecare; Attendees at the Panel Discussion; Jay Patel, Executive Director, Day Lewis Plc; and Aileen Bryson MRPharmS, Deputy Director, RPS

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when it comes to cost, and we also need not presume that every time a woman needs contraception it involves going to a GP. And you have a role to play in this.

ConclusionSo, there are undoubted opportunities for us to work together on vaccinations, to work together on contraception and to work together on a new contract and to move beyond FEMPI to a higher terrain.

And it is equally clear that with new investment there must be parallel conversations on new services, and what new services can look like, as you play your role in reforming our health service. And I want you to know that in me and in Government you have a willing partner. It won’t always be easy, but we will get it done. And I look forward to us collectively reporting on progress at your conference next year.

(This is an edited version of the keynote address as delivered by Minister Simon Harris at the IPU Conference in the Galmont Hotel in Galway)

Presentations got underway by our three guest speakers: Margaret Wing, CEO, Alberta Pharmacists’ Association (RxA) delivered a very interesting session on The Alberta Model: A Vision for the Future of a Healthy Profession; Dr Ross T. Tsuyuki, Professor and Chair,

Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta followed and gave valuable insights in a presentation on Evidence for A Full Scope of Pharmacy Practice; and Terence A. Maguire, Pharmacist and Honorary Senior Lecturer, School of Pharmacy, Queen’s University Belfast, delivered an engaging presentation titled From Medicine Supply to Patient Care – The Future for Pharmacy. The panel of speakers all took questions from the audience and then Darragh closed the session. The Plenary Session was one of the highlights of the conference and we were delighted to have some brilliant and engaging speakers give us a better insight into pharmacy outside of Ireland.

Panel Discussion: Sláintecare – The Future Shape of Healthcare The Panel Discussion took place on the Saturday afternoon of the conference and was themed Sláintecare – The Future Shape of Healthcare. It was a great discussion with our panel members, who were Laura Magahy, Executive Director at Sláintecare; Terence A. Maguire, Pharmacist and Honorary Senior Lecturer, School of Pharmacy, Queen’s University Belfast; Aileen Bryson, Deputy Director and Practice and Policy Lead for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS)

in Scotland; and Daragh Connolly, President of the IPU. Priscilla Lynch, Medical Journalist, acted as MC for the discussion.

During her opening introductions, Laura Magahy said that a critical part of Sláintecare is pharmacy and seeing how we can move together to enhance the role of pharmacy, particularly community pharmacy. Priscilla Lynch asked Ms Magahy the main challenges in delivering Sláintecare and if the Department was getting buy-in from the broader health system. Ms Magahy replied, “Yes, there is a buy-in and yes the reception is really positive. . . the clear message that I am getting back is that people want to make a better health and social care system. The public know it’s needed, it’s against the backdrop of the demographics and the increasing need on our system, but it’s the people who are actually giving the services who are frustrated that they are not able to work to the top of their license and they want to be able to do what it is they are trained to do.” She went on to say, that there is an amazing opportunity for community pharmacy involvement in implementing Sláintecare as there is a great presence, visibility and level of trust with the public and their pharmacist, but there is a job of work involved for pharmacists to position themselves as health and care prevention professionals.

Aileen Bryson was asked, “Scotland offers many proven examples of maximising the full scope of community pharmacies to improve access to healthcare. One example is the Minor Ailment Scheme. Can you tell us about this and how it has benefitted people in Scotland?”. Ms Bryson replied, “The Minor Ailment Scheme is still referred to as the new part of the pharmacy contract and has been around since 2006. It was the first step to a more clinical role for pharmacists and it was the first step away from merely a supply service to a pay per service.” Ms Bryson went on to say that there are three strands to the MAS in Scotland, advice, treatment or referral, and involves a consultation with the pharmacist and registration with the pharmacy. She also said that it’s about being able to prescribe over-the-counter medicines, which was put there simply to free up GP appointments.

Speaking in relation to a smoking cessation service, Terence Maguire said it makes so much more sense for an individual to engage with a smoking cessation service (like in a hospital) and once committed to quitting is then handed over to a community-based, easy accessible service, like community pharmacy, which makes sense because then that individual is going home and there is going to be a pharmacy less than only 1 kilometre away.

Above: IPU Members at the AGM. Right: Edwina Morrissey, Senior Clinical Pharmacist, and Rónán Collins, Consultant in Geriatric Medicine, both from Tallaght University Hospital.

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Ms Lynch asked Daragh Connolly of how patients in the Republic of Ireland feel about the expansion of pharmacy services. He replied that, “Any of the research that we have carried out and also carried out by the PSI, has painted a hugely positive picture of how patients interact with their community pharmacist and statistically, 97% of Irish people have never had cause to complain about the service they received in their community pharmacy, which is an outstanding figure.”

AGMThe IPU AGM was well-attended and the following motions were passed:

n “That this AGM commends the Sláintecare Programme for engaging with the IPU to explore the healthcare role of the pharmacist and looks forward to the expansion of pharmacy services as part of reforming and modernising healthcare in Ireland.”

n “That this AGM calls on the HSE to pay for Blister Pack Dispensing in the following cases:

a. Hospital Discharge patients prescribed more than three drugs on discharge;

b. Psychiatric Patients;

c. All Patients over 80 years of age; and

d. Any Patients that clearly present an identifiable risk of making errors in their medications.”

n “That this AGM calls for the Introduction of

a new category of IPU membership

for pharmacy students.”

” My commitment to you today, my commitment to the IPU and the members of the IPU is that this year, let’s start our discussions on a new pharmacy contract, let’s start a discussion on how we move beyond FEMPI and let’s start our discussion in relation to a programme of investment.”

Minister for Health Simon Harris TD

n “That this AGM calls on the HSE PCRS and the PSI to review and reduce the level of unnecessary bureaucracy they foist on community pharmacists which risks exacerbating the exodus of young pharmacists from the profession.”

n “That this AGM calls on the Health Service Executive to discontinue the approval process for Direct Oral Anticoagulants (DOACs) as it is no longer relevant.”

n “This AGM commends the Minister for Health on his commitment to commence substantive talks with the IPU to reverse FEMPI as it applies to community pharmacy contractors.” (passed with amendments)

n “That the IPU Constitution be amended by the insertion of a new article 4.n. and the amendment of the existing article 4.m. in order to provide an alternative method for collection of membership fees in circumstances where the Health Service Executive ceases to make deductions from the professional fees payable to members under the Community Pharmacy Contractor Agreement and to remit same to the Pharmacy Contractors’ Committee of the IPU.”

Jack Kavanagh

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Exhibition HallThe Exhibition Hall was open on Friday and Saturday of the conference and pharmacists had the opportunity to build on relationships with representatives from the pharmaceutical and pharmacy business industry, with 30 companies in attendance. The conference could not exist without the support of all our sponsors and exhibitors. We did a draw based on the attendees who collected their name badge and we are happy to announce that Blanaid O’Connell has won a voucher for two nights B&B in the Galmont Hotel in Galway. Congratulations Blanaid.

President’s Dinner & BallThe President’s Dinner & Ball took place on Saturday night, 11 May, and there was a great turnout. IPU Vice-President Eoghan Hanly was MC for the night, welcoming everyone to the dinner and thanking all the sponsors and exhibitors of the conference. A speech was given by IPU President Daragh Connolly. At the 2018 President’s Dinner & Ball, a

Save the Date for 2020

If you weren’t able to attend this year’s conference, make sure you have 8 – 10 May in your diary for

2020. We will be heading south to the Kingdom of Ireland, where the 10th IPU National Pharmacy Conference

will be taking place in the Great Southern Hotel, Killarney.

new tradition was started where the President presented the President’s Medal to a deserving pharmacist. This year, the award became the Diarmuid O’Donovan Medal in honour of Diarmuid who passed away last December. During his speech, Daragh invited Katie O’Donovan to the stage to award IPU Trustee Tony Walsh with the inaugural Diarmuid O’Donovan Medal for his incredible service to the IPU and to the profession. A raffle was held in aid of the Pharmacy Benevolent Fund (PBF), which raised over €4,000. The money raised is vital to continue the good work of the PBF and is greatly appreciated by those involved. The raffle was followed by a two-piece band, Treble & Bass, bringing the dinner to a close.

Thank you to all those who attended the conference – we hope that you had a fantastic weekend. Any feedback we have received has been positive, which shows that the conference hits the right notes

with our members. Photos from the President’s Dinner & Ball are on pages 39-41 and photos from the Exhibition Hall will be available in next month’s edition of the IPU Review. A short online survey was sent to all attendees last month and will close on 7 June; we hope that you will take the time to complete it

and tell us what you thought. The IPU aims to provide the best benefits and services for members, and your feedback is vital for us to keep the conference going and growing. If you did not attend the conference, we would also love to hear from you to find out why. You can email feedback to conference@ipu.ie.

Katie O’Donovan presenting the Diarmuid O’Donovan Medal to Tony Walsh

Daragh Connolly at the President’s Dinner & Ball

PHARMACY:WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD, ONE YEAR ON18 JUNE 2019 | NEWCASTLE SUITE | CITYWEST HOTEL | 9.30AM - 1.30PM

MC Broadcaster Conall O’Móráin

AGENDAEconomic Factors and Implications for Pharmacy SectorDan O’Brien, Chief Economist at the Institute of International and European Affairs

Brexit and Medicine Supply: Maintaining Readiness Grainne Power, Director of Human Products Authorisation and Registration, HPRA

Consumers’ Perception and Expectations of Pharmacy Larry Ryan, Behaviour & Attitudes

The Political Landscape and the Potential Impact on Pharmacy Business Lorraine Higgins, Director of Strategy and Public Policy, MKC Communications

This event is a must for all interested in the pharmacy sector, and is open to pharmacy owners, managers, supervisors and leaders from the pharmaceutical wholesaling and manufacturing sectors.

RSVPVisit bit.ly/FutureofPharmacy to register your attendance at this must-attend seminar. There is no charge, but registration is required.

Pharmacy future event A4 ad ART.indd 1 25/05/2019 14:37

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