Ash Soni loses RPS presidency

Following a vote by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) English Pharmacy Board on 22 June 2015 to elect Assembly members for 2016/2017, RPS president Ash Soni has lost his seat on the Assembly, meaning he will no longer be president from 19 July 2016, when the Assembly will next meet.

“It has been a privilege and pleasure to serve the RPS and the profession for the last two years,” says Soni. “I am hugely proud of the progress the RPS has made over recent times and that we now have a stronger and more influential voice in pharmacy and healthcare across Great Britain.”

“During this time I have met many pharmacists doing fantastic work in all healthcare settings, as well as in academia, the pharmaceutical industry and in many other roles. I hope I have played my part in making sure the stories of excellent patient care delivered through our profession have been heard at the highest levels within the NHS,” he adds.

Of those on the English Pharmacy Board who put their names forward to be on the RPS Assembly for 2016/2017, the five with the most number of votes from fellow board members were granted a place.

Those voted onto the Assembly, alongside English Pharmacy Board chair Sandra Gidley and vice-chair Claire Anderson, will be Martin Astbury, Catherine Armstrong, David Carter, Sibby Buckle, and Sid Dajani. Although, Dajani announced that he will be stepping down from the position of treasurer for 2016/2017.

The new RPS president and treasurer will be elected at the next Assembly meeting in July 2016.

“I look forward to working with the new president to make sure the RPS continues on its journey to becoming the Royal College for Pharmacy,” adds Soni, who will remain as a member of the English Pharmacy Board.

Soni, a community pharmacist and clinical network lead for Lambeth clinical commissioning group, has been president of the RPS for two terms, since he was elected on 22 July 2014, prior to which he was vice chair of the English Pharmacy Board.

In 2014, he received an OBE for his services to community pharmacy and the NHS.