New hub to transform pharmacy education and research across Sussex opens at University of Brighton

Hosted at the University of Brighton’s School of Applied Sciences, SIMER unites partners from across NHS Sussex and local healthcare organisations. It aims to embed research and innovation into everyday clinical practice, improve the efficiency of pharmacy service delivery and professional development, reduce medicines waste, and promote safe and effective medicines use.

More than 130 NHS leaders, pharmacy professionals, educators, and researchers marked the launch of the new institute at the 'Excellence in Pharmacy Sussex Conference' held at the university’s Moulsecoomb campus.

The conference served as a high-profile platform to present the institute’s ambitions and generate shared commitments from stakeholders across the sector.

Professor Donna Whitehead, University of Brighton Vice-Chancellor

The creation of SIMER comes at a time when the pharmacy profession is undergoing major reforms as part of efforts to increase its role in patient care across the country. For example, in 2024 NHS England launched the Pharmacy First service enabling community pharmacies to supply medicines for seven common conditions without a GP appointment.

Dr Greg Scutt, Principal Lecturer at the University of Brighton and co-convenor of the conference, said: “The Sussex Institute of Medicines Education and Research represents a powerful step forward for healthcare in our region. By building stronger links between cutting-edge researchers, pharmacy educators, and clinicians, we aim to deliver tangible benefits directly to patients through improved medicine use and, more efficient and patient-centred services.

“At the same time, SIMER will help efforts to empower our pharmacy workforce with enhanced skills and career pathways, making Sussex an even more attractive place to practice. This collaborative approach, uniting the university with our NHS partners, will drive innovation and ensure that the latest research findings are rapidly translated into better patient outcomes.”

David Webb, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer at NHS England, delivered the keynote address at the conference. He said: “I am delighted to take part in this conference, celebrating the launch of the Sussex Institute of Medicines Education and Research. This launch is really exciting and reflects ambition, innovation and great leadership.

David Webb, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer at NHS England

"Effective collaboration and partnerships between clinical research, education and the NHS are more important than ever to help pharmacy utilise opportunities, meet challenges and enhance patient care in a rapidly changing environment. Thank you to the colleagues and organisations across Sussex that are involved in this work”.

The conference was organised by NHS Sussex in partnership with University of Brighton’s recently launched Health Innovation Hub.

Professor Donna Whitehead, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Brighton, who opened the conference, said: “We are proud of the important role our university is playing in enabling excellent research, professional development, and healthcare education that responds to regional and national priorities. This conference demonstrates the collective power of Sussex’s pharmacy workforce to lead meaningful change in healthcare delivery—change that can influence national practice and policy.”

Workshops and panels throughout the day generated tangible outputs, including calls for deeper research collaboration, cross-sector leadership and mentoring programmes, and more structured pathways between pharmacy education and NHS roles.

The ideas generated from the conference will be consolidated with the view of setting a clear challenge for the months ahead: to secure a lasting impact through joint research bids, pilot programmes, and wider sector engagement.

SIMER will build on existing partnerships between the NHS, the University of Brighton and other pharmacy-related organisations across the region.

This local collaboration will include the NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board for medicines optimisation, the region’s six NHS Trusts as well as the Local Pharmaceutical Committee.