RPS national boards elect new chairs

The R
oyal Pharmaceutical Society’s (RPS)
national pharmacy boards
in England, Scotland and Wales elected new chairs a
nd vice-chairs at their latest quarterly meetings.

Member
s of the

English Pharmacy Board

elected community pharmacist Sandra Gidley as chair and academic Claire Anderson as vice-chair. Immediate past chair David Branford has left the board after he was not re-elected in the boa
rd elections. Gidley had previously served as vice-chair.

Martin Astb
ury, Sultan Dajani, Ash Soni, Anthony Cox and Mahendra Patel were elected to serve on the Society’s Assembly.

In a statement to support her appointment, Gidley said she would seek to capitalise on the growing profile of the profession among health leaders and to strengthen relationships with other pharmacy bodies, in particular community pharmacy organisations. 
“I am passionate about the role that pharmacists can play in improving health outcomes and am totally committed to using every opportunity to make the case with commissioners and policymakers and other
health professionals,” she said.

The Scottish Pharmacy Board’s members affi
rmed John McAnaw as chair. He will succeed John Cromarty, who had been chair for the past three years. McAnaw, a community pharmacist from St Andrews, had previously been vice-chair of the board. He is a pharmacy lead for NHS 24 and the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Jonathan Burton, head of professional standards at the Right Medicine Pharmacy Ltd, was elected as the new vice-chair. 
David Thomson will
 remain as the board’s
appointed Assembly representative.

“I am delighted for the opportunity to chair the Scottish Pharmacy Board,” says McAnaw. “I will work to ensure that the RPS provides the help and support our members expect from their professional body, and that we continue our advocacy role on behalf of the profession in support of ‘Prescription for Excellence’ and in promoting the pharmacist’s contribution to patient care.”

The recent board meetings s
aw the new and re-elected board members, elected in May 2015, assume their roles. In England, this included Aamer Safdar as a hospital pharmacy representative and Catherine Armstrong for the primary care sector, while existing board members Claire Anderson and Sultan Dajani continued on the board.

In Scotland,
Elaine Thomson jo
ined the board, while Anne Boyter, John Cromarty and David Thomson resumed their roles.

Preparations for Welsh elections

Mair Davies, a lecturer and tutor in postgraduate pharmacy studies at Cardiff University, will continue as chair of the Welsh Pharmacy Board of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society after being re-elected by members. She has held the position since 2011, before which she was vice-chair for a year.

Suzanne Scott-Thomas, chief pharmacist and medicine management lead for Merthyr and Cynon Localities at Cwm Taf Local Health Board, was elected as vice-chair of the board. She will succeed Richard Evans, who continues to serve on the board.

Davies thanked the board for its support and departing members for their contribution, and welcomed the new board members assuming their posts. “We look forward to a busy and exciting year ahead in the build-up to the Welsh elections,” she says.

“Through our vibrant policy and public affairs programme, our work with Welsh government, and a new campaigning approach, we’ll endeavour to lead the profession on a journey that unlocks the potential of the pharmacy profession to improve patient care. ‘Your Care, Your Medicines’, the vision for pharmacy in Wales, is marching ahead. We’ll continue working with key stakeholders to turn this vision into a reality.”

Paul Harris was appointed as the Welsh Pharmacy Board representative on the RPS Assembly.

Cheryl Way, Fiona Jones and Mike Curson also took up their seats on the Welsh Pharmacy Board. Jones, representing the community sector, and Curson, the primary care sector, were co-opted to the board through two casual vacancies.

• Additional reporting on Wales election results published on 6 July 2015 at 11.25am.