The IPU National Pharmacy Conference will take place on Saturday, 21 October in Johnstown Estate, Enfield, Co Meath. This conference is the first face-to-face conference since 2019 and will also mark the start of celebrations for the 50th Anniversary of the IPU. The event will provide support to the pharmacy profession through an extensive programme of events, education sessions and the Great Debate.
Events will begin with an informal ‘meet and greet’ on Friday evening from 7.00 – 9.00pm, with music and drinks for those who arrive the night before the conference (if you will be attending this part of the event, please tick your attendance when registering so we can manage numbers).
The conference will consist of a full day of activities on Saturday 21 October. The agenda has an extensive programme of speakers, including a keynote speaker from Community Pharmacy Scotland; a motivational speaker; a CPD session; and the Great Debate, which features an extensive panel of participants. The speakers, both international and Irish, will cover topics focusing on the past, present and future of the pharmacy sector, including what’s working, what could be improved, and supports to improve our practice. The day’s proceedings will be chaired by health journalist Priscilla Lynch through each of the sessions.
Following a welcome from IPU President Dermot Twomey, the first speaker, Adam Osprey from Community Pharmacy Scotland will deliver his keynote talk Think Pharmacy First — the Scottish experience. Mr Osprey will share his learnings on the Scottish experience and how they maximised pharmacy in primary care.
This will be followed by Lars-Åke Söderlund, Vice-President, of the International Pharmaceutical Federation speak to us on The Future of Pharmacy — the international perspective. His talk will give insights into what lies ahead for community pharmacy, and what can be applied in Ireland.
Tony O’Brien, former Director General of the HSE and Strategic Advisor to the Healthcare Sector will share his thoughts and learnings on Developing a Robust Primary Care Service — lessons to be learned. Mr O’Brien will provide insights on the best way forward and how to avoid the pitfalls to make a more robust primary care service for the future.
Next up is a CPD session entitled The Value of Having a Positive Pharmacy Practice. This session will be jointly delivered by Rachel Dungan and Jonathon Morrissey who will provide helpful tips on how to manage the day-to-day running and the administrative burden within pharmacy.
After lunch we will have a motivational session from Jim Gavin, Dublin’s former football manager, who will focus on The Power of Teamwork — maximising results under pressure. This will be a not to miss talk, which will provide welcome tips on working as a close team.
The Great Debate, an engaging and thought-provoking panel discussion will follow. This will incorporate speakers from the morning session and will focus on Right Care, Right Place, Right Time — where now for community pharmacy?
The Minster for Heath, Stephen Donnelly TD, will address the conference after the debate and the day will be concluded by Derek Reilly, Secretary General (Acting). The schedule will also provide plenty of time to interact with the wide range of relevant organisations in the Exhibition Hall, with over 20 stands covering medical, financial, business and insurance. The exhibition hall will be open from 8.15am on the Saturday morning to allow attendees to interact and talk with the exhibitors, thus providing opportunities to see what is on the market and learn about new innovations. This conference is the only event of its kind in Ireland, and it would not be such a success without the generosity and support of all our sponsors and exhibitors, so we encourage you all to visit them.
The evening session with start with pre-dinner drinks at 7.00pm prior to the President’s Dinner at 8.00pm. This will be followed by a live band to kick off the 50th Anniversary celebrations.
The 2024 conference will take place in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Athlone, Co Westmeath.
International and local speakers will cover topics focusing on the Right Care, Right Place, Right Time for the pharmacy sector, including what’s working and supports to improve our practice.
Our morning session consists of four key speaker sessions, providing insights and tips to assist you in your working environment and in the wider community pharmacy sector. The following are the details of each speaker in order of appearance. Priscilla Lynch is our Chair throughout the day of the conference.
Priscilla Lynch is an award-winning medical and health journalist with 20 years’ experience covering the sector. She is currently Clinical Editor of the Medical Independent and Editor of Update clinical journals, and a contributor to Medscape UK. She also freelances for a number of national newspapers and is a regular contributor on healthcare news to the ‘Last Word’ on Today FM, RTÉ Radio One’s ‘Drivetime’ and the ‘Late Debate’, the ‘Hard Shoulder’ on Newstalk, and other radio and TV shows. Ms Lynch has a specialist interest in national and international healthcare policy, medical politics, waiting lists, and medical innovation.
Mr Osprey has worked in community pharmacy in Scotland for his whole professional career, running pharmacies in a wide variety of settings across the country for a large CCA company before joining Community Pharmacy Scotland in 2016 as Policy and Development Pharmacist, a role he still enjoys today. Mr Osprey has been involved in the establishment and ongoing development of various national services, including NHS Pharmacy First Scotland and the varied components of the Public Health Service delivered through Scotland’s network of 1,259 community pharmacies.
Lars-Åke Söderlund has been Vice-President of the Swedish Pharmaceutical Society and has occupied various executive positions within Apoteket AB (Sweden), most recently as Head of National Clients and New Business. Currently he is working as the Executive Advisor to Apoteket (a government owned pharmacy chain).
Lars-Åke Söderlund has also been President of the National Swedish project ‘Check My Medicines’ from 2012 to 2020, a project that has significantly improved the medical treatment of seniors in Sweden, as well as empowered them to become the ‘ambassadors’ of their own health. The project is considered as one of the most successful health-related projects in Sweden.
Mr. Söderlund holds various positions in the national and international health sector. He has been lecturing pharmacy students in several countries since 2008.
Amongst other ongoing roles, Mr O’Brien is current chair at Safetynet Primary Care, and he lectures on Health Strategy at the Centre of Health Policy at Trinity College Dublin.
Rachel Dungan MPSI, MCC, known as ‘The Pharmacist Coach’, is a leading voice in fostering a culture of coaching, wellbeing, and leadership within the pharmacy profession. With expertise as an Irish pharmacist and a Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach, Ms Dungan empowers conscious leaders to build thriving businesses that make a positive impact. As an award-winning Master Certified Coach (MCC), she brings international experience in personal, professional, and business growth, across various industries. Ms Dungan’s involvement in the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP)’s ‘Have your say on Positive Practice’ initiative reflects her commitment to shaping the future of community pharmacy and promoting professional sustainability.
Jonathon Morrissey is the Chair of the IPU’s Community Pharmacy Committee. He has embraced point of care testing in the community pharmacy setting with a special interest in the management of cholesterol, asthma, weight management, hypertension (BP), smoking cessation and many others.
He is a prominent pharmacy vaccinator, vaccinating over 10,000 adults and children since vaccination commenced in pharmacy.
He is most noted for his work in pharmacy value-added services, highlighting full use of pharmacy consultation rooms.
He publicly speaks on health topics for all aspects of the medical and pharmacy industry and is active on national committees working on eHealth and ePrescribing.
Jim Gavin is best known as the most successful manager in the history of Gaelic Football, overseeing the Dublin Men’s Senior Team’s record five All-Ireland titles in a row. He is also a rising authority on leadership and motivation whose ideas are earning praise from organisations far beyond the football field. Mr Gavin’s approach is helping people perform at their best, play to their strengths, and become resilient, creative and responsive under pressure.
What sets Mr Gavin apart is the sources of his ideas: his experience in the military, including peace-keeping service overseas; his profession in aviation; and his extensive study of Eastern and Western philosophical traditions, from which he adapts and applies principles that inspire people to perform at their best.
The Great Debate panel discussion will focus on Right Care, Right Place, Right Time — where now for community pharmacy? Our key speakers Adam Osprey, Lars-Åke Söderlund and Tony O’Brien from the morning session will be joined on stage with the following participants.
Mr Twomey was elected President of the IPU by the Executive Committee and took up the position in June 2021. Dermot is a director of Cloyne Pharmacy, a past Vice-President and Treasurer of the Irish Pharmacy Union, former Chairman to the Pharmacy Contractors’ Committee, former board member of the ICCPE and a former Chairman of the Joint Consultative Group of the IPU, which meets the HSE on a regular basis. He has served on the IT steering group of the IPU and on the exam review board of the IIOP, as well as helping to develop practice review for implementation in community pharmacy in Ireland.
Mr Twomey graduated with a first-class honours degree from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow in 1995. He opened the first community pharmacy-based warfarin clinic in Ireland in early 2010.
Joanne Kissane is the Registrar and Chief Officer of the PSI, having commenced in the role in January 2023. Prior to joining the PSI, she was the Director and National Coordinator for APPEL, a joint office of the three Schools of Pharmacy in Ireland, which manages the student experiential learning placements for the integrated Masters degree programmes in pharmacy. She has worked in community pharmacy as a practising pharmacist, and she was the superintendent pharmacist for Lloyds Pharmacy for seven years, and subsequently held the role of Head of Operational Excellence for the organisation.
Ms Kissane was a member of the PSI Council for seven years, chaired several PSI committees during this time, and served two years as PSI President.
In the wake of the 1996 Community Pharmacy Contractor Agreement (CPCA) with the Department of Health, Kate Mulvenna joined the North Eastern Health Board as a Primary Care Pharmacist recruited to liaise with Pharmacy Contractors and assist with the implementation of the new CPCA. Further to the introduction of the HSE and the dissolution of the Health Boards, Ms Mulvenna moved to a national post in 2006 with the National Contracts Office for a number of years, liaising with the Irish Pharmacy Union, the Irish Medical Organisation and the respective Regulators.
When budgetary responsibility for schemes was consolidated nationally to the Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS) in 2011, Ms Mulvenna transferred as Head of Pharmacy Function with responsibilities across the Administration of Schemes, Contractor Management and Probity until retirement in September 2022.
Jack is a third-generation community pharmacist, with his own pharmacy in Castleisland, the gateway to Kerry. As a lifelong IPU member, he has served on multiple IPU committees and has represented the IPU at various levels, nationally and internationally. His other major hat is chairing the Kerry Hospice Foundation fundraising committee, reducing his time for anything approaching acceptable golf to a distant dream.
A columnist for the IPU Review for thirty years, latterly as Editor, he focuses on the real world issues that face the profession daily. With a strong interest in technology, he has held positions on HIQA eHealth advisory committees as well as an expert advisor for NSAI, the national standards body.
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