The UK Psychiatric Pharmacy Group ‐ A Specialist Group Working in Mental Health
| Date | 01 June 2003 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13619322200300015 |
| Pages | 17-20 |
| Published date | 01 June 2003 |
| Author | Celia Feetam |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
The UK Psychiatric Pharmacy
Group – A Specialist Group
Working in Mental Health
Celia Feetam
Clinical Psychiatric Pharmacist
UKPPG Chair
Senior Teaching Fellow
Department of Psychiatric Pharmacy
Aston University
Focus on…
The past
In 1970, a small group of pharmacists working in some
of the large mental institutions of the time, before the
advent of Caring for People (Department of Health et
al, 1989), met on a Saturday afternoon in
Hertfordshire. They were concerned that pharmacy
services to in-patients suffering from serious mental
illness were, at that time, generally provided by
unsupported, under-resourced staff frequently
working in isolation with no peer support and with no
opportunity for further training in mental health or
personal development. Later an informal group was
set up which held similar meetings in Birmingham,
Leeds, Derby, Wales and Scotland.
From that small beginning over 20 years ago grew
the United Kingdom Psychiatric Pharmacy Group
(UKPPG), which now numbers some 400 members
mostly working in secondary care. The group is self-
financing from membership fees and the proceeds of
various educational activities and is organised on a
voluntary basis by an active committee. It produces a
quarterly bulletin, runs an email discussion group,
maintains an extensive website and organises an
annual international conference which attracts
speakers and delegates from all over the world, as well
as supporting further training and education for both
pharmacists and technicians working in mental health.
Full membership is open to all pharmacists in the UK
with associate membership being available to any non-
pharmacist and those working abroad. The overall aim
of the group is ‘to promote better pharmaceutical care for
people with mental health needs through education, liaison
and accreditation’. Its specific objectives are to:
■promote the highest standards of pharmaceutical
practice within the speciality of mental health
and learning disabilities
■promote the role of specialist mental health
pharmacists in optimising treatment with
medicines, through communication, mentorship,
support and dissemination of good practice
■lead, promote and encourage research into and
development of drug treatments within mental
health
■be the forum for all pharmacists with an interest
in mental health
■inform and guide the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society of Great Britain about the
pharmaceutical needs of patients with a mental
health problem or learning disability
■encourage and promote specialist postgraduate
and other education of pharmacists to facilitate
improved practice
■develop the College of Mental Health
Pharmacists as the accreditation body for
specialist mental health pharmacists
■work in partnership with other groups, including
users and carers, on matters relating to mental
health practice
■develop and monitor standards of
pharmaceutical practice in mental health
■promote the role of pharmacists in mental health
care.
The Mental Health Review Volume 8 Issue 2 June 2003 ©Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) 2003 17
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