Suzanne Scott-Thomas affirmed as chair of the Welsh Pharmacy Board

Suzanne Scott-Thomas has been affirmed as chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Welsh Pharmacy Board for a second term. Scott-Thomas was nominated by fellow board members Paul Harris and Cheryl Way. Harris has also been re-elected as vice chair and Assembly member of the Welsh Pharmacy Board. 

In her supporting statement for the election of chair of the board, Scott-Thomas says that, going forward, she wants to ensure the board is in a position to ensure pharmacists are fully informed, supported and equipped to deliver where opportunities arise. “The RPS Welsh Pharmacy Board is a leadership body and we must use all the tools available to us to influence outside of the profession while ensuring we bring the profession with us,” she says. 

Scott-Thomas was affirmed as chair during the board meeting on 21 June 2016. “Matching and improving on the achievements of the last twelve months will undoubtedly require a lot of hard work,” said Scott-Thomas after the affirmation. “However, the board is made up a fantastic team of pharmacists from a range of sectors who have a deep passion to provide the patients in Wales with the highest level of pharmaceutical care.

“I feel that we are in a strong position to achieve our aims for the benefit of our members, profession and patients and look forward to the privilege of working with my board colleagues again during my next term as chair,” she added.

The board meeting also welcomed four new faces to the board: Ruth Mitchell, pharmacy operations manager at Boots UK; Sudhir Sehrawat, a superintendent and director for Clifton Pharmacy; and Jamie Hayes, director of the Welsh Medicines Resource Centre (WeMeReC), who were elected to the board following the 2016 RPS national pharmacy board elections. 

Karen Hodson, senior lecturer and director of MSc in clinical pharmacy and non-medical prescribing at Cardiff University, has been co-opted to the board for a one-year term to bring her expertise in academia and education.