Black Lives Matter - APTUK Statement 

The Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK)  stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement protesting the appalling murders of George Floyd and others, institutional racism and wider injustices faced by BAME communities in the UK and overseas. APTUK is fully committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and we believe all forms of racism and discrimination are unacceptable and should not be tolerated.

We are challenging ourselves and the entire Association to reflect on whether we as individuals and as an organisation are doing enough to eradicate racism. We are asking all our members to join us and help make the APTUK an inclusive organisation. Only by valuing each other, respecting difference and recognising how this makes us stronger will we achieve our purpose of developing and raising the profile of the Pharmacy Technician profession.

What are we doing?

• We will begin a process to review our organisational policies and procedures to ensure they are appropriate for tackling racism. We will strive to address the barriers and discrimination faced by BAME people
• The Board itself is diverse in some ways, but we are very aware that in others it is not. Therefore we are committed to establishing a co-mentoring programme where we will ask colleagues from diverse backgrounds to help guide and develop Board members in the understanding of the challenges faced.
• We will encourage our members to learn and engage more through literature to support greater understanding, awareness and active change of racist and/or discriminatory practice and to create a culture of challenging those behaviours.