- Professor Ian Maidment is a professor in clinical pharmacy at Aston Pharmacy School
- His inaugural lecture will explain why patients struggle with taking medication and present possible solutions to the problem
- Professor Maidment is a former practising pharmacist and an expert in medication optimisation and management in mental health and dementia.
Professor Ian Maidment, professor in clinical pharmacy at Aston Pharmacy School, will give a public lecture about his life’s work on 5 February 2025.
In his inaugural lecture, Professor Maidment will reflect on his journey from a childhood in Kent to becoming a leading researcher in clinical pharmacy. After more than two decades working in the NHS, in community pharmacy, mental health, dementia care, and leadership roles, he joined Aston University in 2012. His research focuses on the real-world challenges of medication optimisation for patients, carers, and healthcare professionals.
The title of Professor Maidment’s lecture is ‘Medication adherence: Why it matters and how we can improve it’. Every year, the UK spends nearly £21 billion on medicines. Yet up to half of people with long-term conditions do not take their medication as prescribed—a problem known as non-adherence. This has profound clinical consequences and significant financial implications for the NHS.
Professor Maidment will draw on his experience to explore how factors such as medication burden and side-effects influence adherence, the challenges posed by conditions such as dementia and severe mental illness, the role of pharmacy in supporting adherence and why tackling non-adherence requires a system-wide approach. He will also offer practical solutions to one of healthcare’s most persistent problems.
Professor Maidment said:
“We need to understand why patients struggle to take their medication and then develop and test solutions that work well.”
The lecture on Thursday 5 February 2026 will take place at Aston Business School. In-person tickets are available from Eventbrite. The public lecture will begin at 18:00 GMT with refreshments served from 17:30 GMT. It is free of charge and will be followed by a drinks reception. The lecture will also be streamed online.