COVID-19 puts a halt to conferences

Media release

7 May 2020

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia has today announced the cancellation of two of its annual national events, Pharmacy Connect 2020 and the 2020 Pharmacy Assistant National Conference.

The ongoing disruption caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, domestic travel restrictions, and the uncertainty of when mass gathering restrictions will be lifted were cited as the reasons for the cancellations.

Pharmacy Connect 2020, which was due to take place in Sydney in September, is an annual national conference featuring a two-day education program, a 50-plus stand trade exhibition, and a networking and social program.

Conference hosts, the Guild’s New South Wales Branch, said that after much deliberation and consultation with the conference committee, events team and event suppliers, they made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s conference.

“2020 would have been the fifth year which Pharmacy Connect has been held, and we are bitterly disappointed to pause the momentum of an event that is now ingrained in the industry’s event calendar,” Branch President David Heffernan said.

“This event goes from strength to strength each year, and we will be back better than ever in 2021 to deliver another great event”.

Dates have already been set for Pharmacy Connect 2021, which will be held from 12-14 August at the Hilton Sydney.

Another casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic is the Pharmacy Assistant National Conference 2020 (PA2020), which will not be taking place in Brisbane in October as planned.

The conference provides pharmacy assistants with a forum to gain product knowledge, professional development and management skills, and to learn from the sharing of knowledge and experiences.

PA2021 will be taking place as planned on 22-23 October 2021 at the Sofitel Brisbane.

For any enquiries regarding Guild events, email events@qldguild.org.au.

Source: Pharmacy Guild of Australia