A hospital trust chief pharmacist is among those recognised in the first New Year Honours list of King Charles III’s reign.
Charlotte Skitterall, group chief pharmacist at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, was awarded an MBE for services to pharmacy in the New Year Honours List 2023.
Skitterall also chairs NHS England’s Medicines Optimisation Clinical Reference Group and, in 2021, was made a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, in recognition of her achievements in hospital pharmacy.
“I am humbled and proud to receive this honour for services to pharmacy,” she said.
“I have had the privilege of working with outstanding, dedicated colleagues and could not have achieved it without their ongoing support.
“COVID was a really challenging time for all sectors of pharmacy, but it also gave us a chance to shine and show first-hand the contribution we make to patient care. Similarly, the recent advances in medicines, particularly in relation to gene therapy and pharmacogenomics, are life-changing for patients. I am proud to call myself a pharmacist.”
Pharmacist Michael Scott, director of the Medicines Optimisation Innovation Centre in Antrim, also received an MBE for services to pharmacy in Northern Ireland.
Biologist Harren Jhoti, co-founder, president and chief executive of Astex Pharmaceuticals, was given an OBE for services to cancer research and drug discovery.
Sir Michael Marmot, director of the Institute of Health Equity at University College London, was named Companion of Honour for services to public health. Marmot, who was knighted in 2000, was keynote speaker at the 2022 Royal Pharmaceutical Society Annual Conference.
There are only 65 Companions of Honour at any one time, and the award is granted to those who have made a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government over a long period of time.
