South Asian Heritage Month - Royal Pharmaceutical Society
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) hosted a profession wide South Asian Heritage Month event during August 2024 in collaboration with the following:
Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK)
British Pharmaceutical Students Association (BPSA)
Female Pharmacy Leaders Network
Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (GHP)
Pharmacy Technicians of Colour (PToC)
These platforms came together to celebrate, educate and commemorate South Asian communities’ contributions in Pharmacy. Themes included looking at the intersection between traditional medicine practices and modern medicine. The School of Ayurveda UK director and Pharmacist Janak Acharya was invited to be a member of the panel at the event on the 8th August 2024 where he shared how Ayurveda and Pharmacy can have a combined role.
This historic moment was the first time that the Royal Pharmaceutical Society has invited Ayurveda experts with a professional background to speak to its members, marking a significant moment for Ayurveda in the United Kingdom. With the growing awareness of Ayurveda as well as increasing use of Ayurvedic treatments, it is important that we can practice this ancient, time tested science safely and effectively whilst maintaining the utmost safety for patients.
During the event, Janak mentioned key areas in which Ayurveda can have a pivotal role in patient care, that can range from managing self-limiting minor ailments with simple lifestyle and dietary changes at home to supporting patients that have side effects from receiving aggressive medical interventions e.g. chemotherapy. Janak mentioned the extensive work of the Ayurvedic Professionals Association on appropriately propagating Ayurveda in the UK and setting high standards for safe and uniform practice.
Other points discussed included how practicing pharmacy and having a specialist Ayurveda interest complement each other, current challenges/barriers experienced with practicing Ayurveda in the UK and what opportunities there are to bringing the two practices together in the near future.
To conclude the RPS discussed how we as health care professionals can better support our patients who maybe keen in exploring and using traditional herbal/alternative medicines with western medicine. This was a positive step forward for making Ayurveda more accessible in the UK, with patient safety at the forefront.
The School of Ayurveda UK provides high quality Ayurveda education in the UK and shares the professional standards of the RPS.
Janak Acharya MPharm (Hons), IPresc
Clinical Pharmacist
Director The School of Ayurveda UK