Jon Barlow
Claire Anderson has been re-elected as president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) for a second term.
She was first elected president by the RPS Assembly in 2021. Her new term will last for two years.
There was one other nomination for president at the Assembly meeting held on 11 July 2023 — Thorrun Govind, who was chair of the RPS English Pharmacy Board until June 2023.
In a speech to the Assembly, immediately before the election, Anderson told meeting that she had decided to stand for president for a second term to offer the RPS “much needed continuity”.
Anderson, a Fellow of the RPS, has been a member of the English Pharmacy Board (EPB) since 2012. She was chair of the EPB between 2019 and 2021 and, prior to that, held the position of vice chair between 2015 and 2017.
Anderson, who registered as a pharmacist in 1982, initially worked in the hospital and community sectors before moving into academia. She is currently professor of social pharmacy at the Pharmacy Practice and Policy Division at the University of Nottingham’s School of Pharmacy.
In her address to the Assembly, she said: “During my two years as president, I have built solid and fruitful relationships across the pharmacy professions and organisations, and with government, other royal colleges and healthcare organisations. I have begun to restore our international reputation by leading us to re-join [the International Pharmaceutical Federation] and am leveraging the benefits to maximise publishing income, conference participation and international membership.
“I have ensured that issues of planetary health and sustainability are on the agenda, including changes in our investment portfolio and operations. I commissioned an independent review of member participation and communication, which has led to changes in member engagement and more open decision making.”
She added: “We will not just react to a changing policy and professional landscape, but share our successes and collaborations more widely. We will be adaptive and agile, never afraid to innovate. We will expand our scope of influence while capitalising on our strong brand values, to ensure that the RPS is seen as essential, not only to pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical science, but also to everyone who develops, prescribes administers and takes medicines.”
Alisdair Jones, an existing member of the EPB and Assembly, was confirmed by the RPS Assembly as the new RPS treasurer, taking over from Sibby Buckle. Jones was elected unopposed.
