Courtesy, Philip Howard
Philip Howard FRPharmS has taken up his post as president of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC), having been voted in as president-elect one year ago at the associations’ 2017 annual general meeting. The occasion marks the first time in the association’s 45-year history that a pharmacist has held the post.
Howard is consultant antimicrobial pharmacist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and a Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) spokesperson on antimicrobials, as well as being a member of the RPS antimicrobial expert advisory group. In his new capacity, he will lead the BSAC’s efforts to share understanding of antimicrobial medicines, and to set global standards for antimicrobial susceptibility testing and medicines use.
“The appointment of a pharmacist as president of the BSAC is major step forward for the profession,” Howard said. “It recognises the significant contribution that pharmacy has made for more than a decade in developing antimicrobial stewardship in partnership with doctors.
“The BSAC is a global player and will provide a platform to highlight both the leadership and delivery roles that pharmacy and other professions outside of medicine can play. Antimicrobial resistance will always remain the biggest risk to modern medicine, and so it is essential that a truly multi-professional approach is adopted worldwide.”
Howard will serve as the BSAC president until 2021.
