Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Jonathan Burton has been elected as chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s (RPS) Scottish Pharmacy Board, having previously served in the role from 2019–2021.
He takes over from Andrew Carruthers, who was elected chair in 2021 and was re-elected for a second term in 2023. Carruthers did not stand for re-election.
A community pharmacist within NHS Forth Valley and a founding partner of the Right Medicine Pharmacy group, Burton was one of the first community pharmacist prescribers in Scotland and was involved from an early stage in the development of NHS Pharmacy First Scotland.
In March 2023, he was presented with the RPS Charter Award in recognition of his work for the Society and the wider pharmacy profession.
He was vice-chair of the RPS Scottish Pharmacy Board between 2015 and 2016, and between 2017 and 2019. He received an MBE for services to healthcare in June 2018.
Burton said: “I’m delighted to be elected chair of the Scottish Pharmacy Board; serving as chair is a great privilege. I am hugely thankful to members for supporting me to serve the pharmacy profession across Scotland in this important capacity.
“During my time as chair, my guiding principles will be to act with authenticity, to respect all members’ views and to be passionate, whilst treating everyone with respect.”
The Scottish Pharmacy Board elected Audrey Thompson as its representative to the RPS Assembly; the English Pharmacy Board elected Adebayo Adegbite, Danny Bartlett and Matthew Prior to the Assembly as its representatives; and the Welsh Pharmacy Board confirmed Eleri Schiavone as its representative to the Assembly.
