Clinical Pharmacy Congress Delivers for Pharmacists

In the face of NHS cuts, Congress sees biggest ever gathering of UK clinical pharmacists

More than 1,200 clinical pharmacists in secondary and primary care flocked to London ExCeL to the inaugural Clinical Pharmacy Congress to benefit from the largest CPD education programme and exhibition for clinical pharmacists ever staged in the UK.

The Congress comprised a five stream, world-class conference, a major exhibition, a host of special interest groups and numerous networking opportunities.

“The Clinical Pharmacy Congress is a welcome addition to the industry calendar. It has filled a niche in the market providing a vital platform to foster greater understanding and a sharing of ideas between clinical pharmacists and the industry, which will ultimately result in the benefit of patients everywhere” says Chris Down, Congress Director.

The two-day Congress delivered an impressive line-up of more than 50 speakers and lecturers in a conference programmed by the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE). Delivered across five streams, the education programme included 48 plenary and workshop sessions and provided 38 hours of free CPD training. Overall the Congress delivered 6,034 hours of CPD hours to 1,272 delegates.

With deepening NHS budget cuts, Congress helped NHS trust and private hospital pharmacists to learn how to improve standards, and to share and disseminate best practice.

“The Congress has given me lots of ideas that I will take back to the hospital, which will influence how I work with patients on the ward. It’s so much easier to make changes when you see how things are done elsewhere, and that’s been the beauty of this event,” said Tracey Townsend, Medicine Information Pharmacist at East Surrey Hospital.

Barry Keenan a senior clinical pharmacist at Western Health and Social Care Trust agrees: “The event is really well put together. I like all the different streams and the content is so varied that there’s something for everyone. It’s a good opportunity to get information on topics that lie outside of you main area and there’s lots of interesting things that you can take away from here.”

The unique format of the Congress allowed pharmacists and the industry to engage like never before. Some 75 market-leading suppliers and manufacturers of specialist pharmacy products, medicines, services, technology and solutions exhibited on an exciting trade floor giving clinical pharmacists access to the latest information and allowing them to share ideas with the industry to their mutual benefit.

Sponsors and exhibitors acknowledged that the ground-breaking Congress format allowed them unrivalled access to hospital pharmacists. “Being at the Clinical Pharmacy Congress has been a very useful information sharing exercise for us. We’ve been able to impart information, learn more about clinical pharmacists and better understand their needs. The NHS is changing. We need to know how the industry, pharma and doctors can work better together. Events like this allow that to happen,” said Lucy Bowden, Brand Lead at Bristol Myers Squibb.

“A great location and a fantastic event. The contact with delegates has been great. Hospital pharmacists can be difficult to get to, but the sessions here are relevant and people have been seeking us out afterwards to come and talk to,” said Pete McFadden, Cardiovascular Advisor at Boehringer Ingelheim.

Such has been the success of the inaugural 2012 event, that the event re-signed 105% of the space for next year.

“It was a bit of a leap of faith to exhibit at the launch event, but it’s been a fantastic show for us. We’ve had more than 60 quality enquiries and the conversations we’ve had here will help our new product development agenda too. The Clinical Pharmacy Congress has been one of the best exhibitions for us,” said Chris Steng, Marketing Manager at Helapet.

"It’s so refreshing to have all the sectors of pharmacy here working together, which is what we should be trying to achieve,” said delegate Anna Murphy, Consultant Respiratory Pharmacist, Cardio-Respiratory Directorate, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.

The Clinical Pharmacy Congress 2013 returns to London ExCeL on April 26th & 27th April, 2013.

For Stand & Sponsorship Opportunities contact: Chris Down: 0207 348 5267 or email c.down@closerstillmedia.com

For marketing and delegate information please contact Lucy Pitt on 02476 719 690 or email l.pitt@closerstillmedia.com.

More photos and testimonials are available upon request.