Written by Mr Jay Chong Jin Jian, Director of YPC Sandbox

What does it mean to have sustainable pharmacy in Singapore? Buzzwords such as “eco-friendliness”, “burnout reduction”, and “patient empowerment” immediately come to mind. How can pharmacists make an impact in this journey? What if you have a project idea but lack the resources to develop it?

YPC Sandbox is a platform to encourage innovation and collaboration in pharmacy nationwide. Open to all PSS members, YPC Sandbox is able to tap into the vast PSS network to connect pharmacists with innovative ideas to the relevant expertise, and help secure resources for project development.

The theme for YPC Sandbox 2022 is Sustainable Pharmacy in Singapore. Participants are invited to share their proposals which will be assessed by a panel of experts, on the viability and impact of the project. The winning project will be supported with seed funding, professional support, and publicity from PSS. To kickstart creativity and strengthen project management skills for our participants, we have hosted a series of activities to guide them in this process.

Our opening session for YPC Sandbox 2022 was held on 14th Jan 2022, where discussions on the three pillars of sustainable development, namely economic, social, and environmental were made. Challenges and opportunities were discussed, and interesting examples were shared on how our overseas colleagues played their part in sustainable pharmacy.

To gain further insights on how sustainability can be applied to pharmacy, we invited Ms Min Na Eii (Vice Chair of Sustainability for Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists, Co-Founder of Pharmacy Declares) to elaborate on her experience in advocating for sustainable pharmacy practices in UK, such as reducing plastic consumables usage in medication rounds and recycling schemes for inhalers.

We also had a panel discussion featuring Ms Amy Chan (Chief Pharmacist Office), Dr Tan Weng Mooi (MOH Transformation Team), and Mrs Chew Kwee Tiang (National Healthcare Group), who shared their insights on building a sustainable pharmacy and healthcare in Singapore.

There was a lively discussion on the patient’s journey in Singapore’s healthcare system, with opportunities for pharmacists to establish closer relationships with patients, and empowering the public to improve their health. We also touched on topics of managing pharmacy staff burnout, as well as environmental friendliness in the pharmacy supply chain.

Not forgetting the importance of project proposal writing and pitching skills, we invited Ms Joyce Tay (Chief Strategy Officer at StartupX) to share her expertise in startup skills with our participants, where she highlighted the importance of addressing market needs and marketing of products’ benefits beyond their features.

Sustainability is not a want or a desire, it is a need, and a collective responsibility of humanity. As individuals, we start small, changing our own lifestyles and consumption. As a group, we can start bigger, to work on innovative ideas and projects, to collaborate and develop something new.

YPC Sandbox aims to facilitate the realization of this idea, and we hope that with our push to develop novel projects, pharmacists like yourself will be inspired to jumpstart your innovation and join us to work towards sustainable pharmacy in Singapore.