Royal Pharmaceutical Society
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has announced the results of the 2015 English Pharmacy Board election, as voter turnout marginally rose but remained low.
Chair of the board David Branford lost his seat after his five-year term, two of those as chairman, after receiving 13.9% of the vote. Branford contested a position as an “any sector” representative. Fellow board member Elizabeth Butterfield, a primary care representative since 2012, also lost her seat.
RPS treasurer Sultan Dajani retains his seat on the board as a community practice representative with 14.9% of the vote, while Claire Anderson also returns to her position as an “any sector” representative after receiving 14.1% of votes. Catherine Armstrong is appointed as a primary care member with 8.9%.
People elected to the board – the RPS committee in England that decides on Society policy – serve a three-year term.
Michael Holden, a former chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, who was running for “any sector”, withdrew from the election process two days before the end of the voting period.
Voter turnout was 11.71%, a total of 2,643 members in England. This was an increase of 2.38 percentage points on the turnout in the previous English Pharmacy Board elections in 2014, when 2,073 members voted, or 9.33%.
Voting closed at noon on 22 May 2015. Members had been asked to vote for three representatives for the English Pharmacy Board this year from among 12 candidates. A fourth seat on the board will be taken by Aamer Safdar, who is elected unopposed as a hospital sector member, while a fifth seat, representing the industrial sector, remains a casual vacancy after the RPS did not receive a nomination.
Elected members will assume their roles on 24 June 2015. Full election results are available on the RPS website.
