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The Royal Pharmaceutical Society moved a huge step closer to becoming a royal college after it secured more than two-thirds of members’ votes needed to push the proposal through.

The RPS said 71.1 per cent or 4,369 members out of 6,144 who voted were in favour of changes to its royal charter, its plan to register as a charity and transition to Royal College of Pharmacy status. The vote saw 1,775 members reject the proposal.

The RPS, who also said it wants to create a wholly owned limited subsidiary for publishing activities, claimed the "summary number of individuals eligible to vote was 19,594" and insisted there was a voter turnout of 31.4 per cent.

Transition to royal college status will be completed by spring 2026

Its chief executive Paul Bennett said the aim was to complete the transition to royal college status by the spring of next year.

“I’m delighted with the positive result of the vote and grateful to our members for their participation and support in this historic decision,” he said.

“I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to the debate and voted in the special resolution vote, whether for or against. Your participation is valued.

“We have been very clear that this process was only the start of the journey that RPS must take, so that work begins now. We have committed to developing a new strategy for the new royal college and this will be a collaborative process in which our members will play a vital role.”

Bennett said the RPS “will now focus on progressing the necessary steps with the Privy Council, Charity Commission and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator”.

Greater recognition for pharmacy with public and policy makers 

RPS president Professor Claire Anderson said the RPS will be able to “move forward and build the collaborative professional leadership body that pharmacy deserves”.

“Our ambition is to create greater recognition for pharmacy with the public, policy makers and other healthcare professionals and drive excellence in patient care,” she said.

“We believe that becoming a royal college would help us achieve these ambitions and that as the Royal College of Pharmacy, we would be able to take forward the commitments we have set out.”

Opposition to the proposals had been building in the run-up to the vote. The RPS’s former president Martin Astbury said he would resign from the English Pharmacy Board if the vote was passed.

He warned plans “to convert” the RPS into a charity and the Royal College of Pharmacy would “have unintended disastrous consequences”.

“This conversion means we pharmacists will be losing control of our professional body and a main charter objective will shift from representing our interests to representing the public interest,” he said.

Earlier this month, the Pharmacists’ Defence Association urged the RPS to “abandon its hastily convened” ballot and said it was concerned the professional leadership body was rushing into the proposal.