Home » News & Blogs » Pharmacist Support: Championing Wellbeing Across the Pharmacy Profession

Pharmacist Support: Championing Wellbeing Across the Pharmacy Profession

Established in 1841, Pharmacist Support has been helping pharmacists, students and their families for more than 180 years. Read on to find out how the charity supports the pharmacy profession across personal wellbeing, financial health and workplace wellbeing, and what is new this autumn.

Posted by Beth Smith / 23rd October 2026

Pharmacist Support: Championing Wellbeing Across the Pharmacy Profession

Pharmacist Support is the independent charity for the pharmacy profession. Its mission is “to champion the wellbeing of our pharmacy family”, and its vision is that no one in that family will face challenging times without the charity by their side.

The charity was established by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in 1841, growing out of the Society’s Benevolent Fund. Today it is an independent charity based in Manchester and has supported the profession for more than 180 years. In 2013 it launched a wellbeing service, funded by a legacy from pharmacist Robert Wardley, which has since helped thousands of people seek support early.

How the charity helps

The charity now organises its support around four areas of people’s lives:

  • Personal wellbeing: guidance, counselling, peer support through its Listening Friends scheme, addiction support, workshops and a wellbeing podcast
  • Financial health: financial assistance, financial guidance, specialist help with debt and benefits, and a financial wellbeing workshop
  • Workplace wellbeing: guidance, workshops, a workplace wellbeing course and support for employers and organisations
  • Studying and training: guidance and financial assistance for pharmacy students and trainees, and support for universities and training providers

Most of its support is free and confidential. Counselling is funded for Foundation Trainees, MPharm students and pharmacists earning below £40,500 a year, and those above this level may still be considered.

Who can get help

Pharmacist Support helps pharmacists and their families, former pharmacists, trainee pharmacists and pharmacy students across England, Scotland and Wales. Eligible family members include partners and dependent children. People do not need to be members to get support. Pharmacists in Northern Ireland are directed to the Pharmacists’ Advice and Support Service (PASS).

The difference it makes

Under its 2020 to 2025 strategy, the charity has grown its reach. By 2024, compared with 2020, it had seen:

  • an 82% increase in grants awarded, with 592 financial assistance grants worth £696,410
  • a 72% increase in referrals to Listening Friends
  • 2,516 counselling sessions delivered since the service launched in April 2021
  • £150,000 in bursaries awarded to 40 students over five years

The need is clear. The charity’s 2024 Workforce Wellbeing Survey found that 87% of respondents were at high risk of burnout.

What’s new this autumn

Easier to find the right help. As part of its five-year strategy, the charity has redesigned its website so that support is grouped around the challenges people face, rather than listed as separate services. People who know what they are struggling with, but not what kind of help they need, can now find their way more easily.

A new partnership with the NPA. The National Pharmacy Association is donating £1 for every pharmacy it represents. The two organisations will also share a co-branded digital information pack with NPA members and their teams, promoting wellbeing support across independent community pharmacy.

Pharmacist ACTNow returns. The free wellbeing campaign runs from 2 to 15 November 2026, sponsored by the Pharmacists’ Defence Association and Orion Pharma. It offers digital resources, interactive activities, A Dose of Wellbeing podcasts and stories from pharmacists across the sector. This year it launches Essential Eight: Your Script for Wellbeing, built on the Five Ways to Wellbeing and covering eight areas: connect, be active, be present, keep learning, give, sleep well, eat well and build financial wellbeing. The charity’s updated Embracing a Workplace Wellbeing Culture course is now offered through a new employer scheme.

How to get in touch

People can contact Pharmacist Support through its online enquiry form or by calling freephone 0808 168 2233. The team responds Monday to Friday and aims to reply within five working days. Pharmacist Support is not a crisis service: anyone needing urgent help should contact Samaritans, their GP or A&E.

Find out more at pharmacistsupport.org.