Every day, pharmacists make an extraordinary contribution to the health of patients and communities. From ensuring the safe and effective use of medicines to preventing disease, supporting people with long-term conditions and leading improvements across healthcare services, their expertise reaches every part of the patient journey.

World Pharmacists Day, celebrated annually on 25 September, provides an opportunity to recognise this contribution and make the profession’s impact visible. Led by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), the theme for 2026 is “Empowering pharmacists for healthier futures”.

The theme reflects the importance of equipping pharmacists with the skills, recognition, opportunities and working environments they need to meet changing healthcare demands. As health systems respond to an ageing population, growing rates of long-term conditions, digital transformation and increasing pressure on services, enabling pharmacy professionals to work to the full extent of their expertise has never been more important.

A profession with an expanding role

The role of pharmacy continues to evolve across community, primary care, hospital and other clinical settings. Pharmacists are taking greater responsibility for clinical decision-making, prescribing, disease prevention, medicines optimisation and the delivery of care closer to home.

This expanding role creates exciting opportunities for the profession, but it must be supported by continued investment in education, workforce development and collaboration. Pharmacy professionals need the time, resources and recognition required to develop their practice and translate their expertise into better outcomes for patients.

World Pharmacists Day is therefore not only a celebration of what the profession already achieves. It is also an opportunity to consider how pharmacists can be supported to shape the future of healthcare.

How Clinical Pharmacy Congress supports the profession

At Clinical Pharmacy Congress, empowering pharmacy professionals is at the heart of what we do.

Each year, CPC brings together thousands of pharmacy professionals from across the UK to learn from leading experts, share best practice and build relationships with colleagues from across the healthcare system. Through more than 250 educational sessions, attendees can access practical clinical guidance, hear the latest policy and practice updates and develop skills that can be applied directly within their own services.

Our programme is developed in collaboration with an expert advisory board, speakers and sector partners to reflect the real challenges and opportunities facing pharmacy teams. By bringing different parts of the profession together, CPC also encourages the cross-sector collaboration needed to deliver more integrated and patient-centred care.

Beyond formal education, CPC creates space for pharmacy professionals to exchange ideas, learn from one another and build supportive professional networks. These connections help individuals to develop their careers while enabling successful initiatives and improvements to be shared across organisations and care settings.

Recognising excellence and sharing innovation

Empowering the profession also means recognising the people and teams driving it forward.

The Clinical Pharmacy Congress Awards celebrate outstanding achievement, leadership and innovation across clinical pharmacy. They shine a national spotlight on individuals, teams and projects improving patient care, advancing professional practice and transforming services across the UK.

The CPC Poster Zone provides another platform for pharmacy professionals to present research, service developments and quality improvement projects. By sharing this work with the wider pharmacy community, contributors can inspire new ideas, encourage collaboration and help effective approaches reach more patients.

Supporting the people behind the profession

While pharmacists spend their working lives caring for others, it is equally important that they can access support when they need it themselves.

CPC is proud to continue its partnership with Pharmacist Support, the profession’s independent charity. Pharmacist Support provides free and confidential services to pharmacists, trainees, students, former pharmacists and their families, covering areas including mental health and wellbeing, financial difficulties, workplace pressures and training.

As part of this partnership, CPC pledges an annual £1,500 donation from CPC London to the charity. We also use our platform to raise awareness of its services and campaigns, helping more people across the pharmacy community find support during challenging moments.

Continuing our commitment

World Pharmacists Day is an important moment to thank pharmacy professionals for everything they do. However, recognition and support for the profession must continue throughout the year.

Clinical Pharmacy Congress remains committed to providing opportunities for pharmacy professionals to learn, connect, share their achievements and influence the future of clinical practice. By bringing the community together and giving pharmacy professionals a platform to develop and be heard, we can help ensure the profession is equipped to meet future challenges.

This World Pharmacists Day, we are proud to celebrate pharmacists across every setting and career stage. By empowering the people at the heart of pharmacy, we can build stronger services, improve patient care and create healthier futures for everyone.