As the profession’s independent charity, we strive for a time when no one in our pharmacy family will face challenging times without us by their side. On this page you can find information on the work we do, our team and our strategy, and how we are funded.
Pharmacist Support is a well-established, independent and trusted charity supporting pharmacists and their families, former pharmacists, trainee pharmacists and pharmacy students. We provide a wide variety of free and confidential support services, including Information and Enquiries, Specialist Advice, Financial Assistance, Addiction Support, Counselling and Peer Support, and the Wardley Wellbeing Service. We’re proud to be able to support people from such a caring profession and each year we provide thousands of acts of support. By championing wellbeing, Pharmacist Support’s vision is for no one in our pharmacy family to face challenging times without us by their side.
No one in our pharmacy family will face challenging times without us by their side
To champion the wellbeing of our pharmacy family
We were established by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) in 1841, and have since grown from our Benevolent Fund roots into a modern day charity. We are committed to working with partners across the profession as we strive for an empowered and resilient pharmacy workforce and a time when no one in our pharmacy family has to face challenging times alone. Our team of trustees and staff, alongside our army of volunteers, work to champion wellbeing and deliver much needed support to our pharmacy family.
We’ve listened carefully to people from all sectors of the profession, and deeply empathise with the issues affecting pharmacy today. In our 2019 market research 97% of all potential service users surveyed felt they needed some form of support from the charity. Concerningly, 71% of all respondents cited mental health as a key issue affecting the sector.
We're proud to be able to support people from such a caring profession, and we'll never give up on what we like to call our pharmacy 'family'.
In 2019 we conducted a review of our activities, spent time engaging with stakeholders and carried out market research. This provided us with invaluable insight which we used to inform the future direction of the charity. In turn, this lead to the development of our five year strategy which outlines the following objectives:
Pharmacist Support is committed to promoting equality, valuing diversity, and creating an inclusive environment for all who work with or access its services. We want to ensure people are treated fairly, equitably and are offered equal access and opportunities. This applies to our beneficiaries and supporters as well as our staff, volunteers and Trustees.
In 2021, the charity set about developing an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy and action plan. At this time, we recognised we had a lot to learn and started on our journey to better developing our knowledge and understanding.
Through the generous support of our charity partners as well as individuals, we continue to develop and deliver support to meet the changing needs of those in the profession. However, demand continues to rise and we continue to seek more support for our work.
Individuals support us in many ways such as by setting up a monthly direct debit, making a one-off donation, joining TEAMGreen by fundraising for us, or leaving a gift in their will. This support has a significant impact on the charity and one example is the significant gift left in the will of pharmacist Robert Wardley. Robert wanted his legacy to be used to help relieve the stress experienced by pharmacists. Thanks to his donation we were able to develop a new wellbeing service that, since it’s launch in 2013, has assisted thousands of individuals to seek proactive support for their wellbeing.
Organisations in the profession support us by providing direct donations, partnering with us to deliver activity and by helping us to raise awareness of the charity through their networks.
Pharmacist Support is powered by a team of thirteen staff members, eleven trustees and many volunteers from across our pharmacy family. Together, we're passionate, driven and deeply committed to championing wellbeing within the profession.
Pharmacist Support is an entirely independent organisation and access to our services is completely confidential.
As a forward-thinking charity, we measure our successes and impact every year to ensure our support remains relevant and useful.
