Commenting on invasion of Ukraine by Russia, RPS President Professor Claire Anderson said

“We are deeply troubled by the devastating crisis in Ukraine and our thoughts are with all those affected. RPS deplores and condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and calls for the immediate withdrawal of its forces.  We have now removed directly invested Russian assets from the vast majority of our funds and will work to remove any remaining as soon as possible. 

“RPS is keen to play its part in supporting the health professionals working in unimaginable conditions in Ukraine.

“We recognise that patient care is at risk, with hospitals, pharmacies and healthcare workers being directly impacted. Medicines shortages are a real and immediate issue.

“RPS is aware that donations of medicines are on their way from charities, NGOs and the NHS to help people gain access to treatments.

“The health professionals using these medicines will need access to reliable information on the administration and use of those medicines, especially as brand names and information are likely to be different.

“As a sign of our support and to aid the identification and safe use of medicines, RPS, through its knowledge business Pharmaceutical Press, has given free access to MedicinesComplete and the Pharmaceutical Journal to all healthcare professionals in Ukraine. This is enabled by the WHO initiative Research4Life.

“The pharmacists working hard to deliver care under the most extreme of circumstances are in our thoughts. We add our voices to those in the international healthcare community asking for a swift and peaceful resolution."

For further information on RPS activities to support pharmacists caught up in conflict zones see Humanitarian Support.