Barbara Lynn Haygarth FRPharmS

As well as being on the Panel of Fellows, I work on the Joint Formulary Committee and I am a mentor to pharmacists working in mental health. I also support the certificate and diploma in psychiatric pharmacy for the University of Aston. These are all part-time roles and I indulge my passions for having fun, keeping fit and travelling in our motorhome.

I began my pharmacy career working in my Dad’s chemist shop in Llandudno from the age of 13 and always wanted to be a pharmacist. I received my BPharm in 1975 from Bradford University where I met my husband, a true Yorkshireman, and we have lived in Yorkshire ever since. 

My first ten years were working as a community pharmacist in Bradford and Leeds areas. I had a small chemist shop in Headingley in the late 70s. With family commitments, I started working part-time in mental health. I then became keen to support mental health pharmacy services and have always been a key player in the development of mental health pharmacy services such that they are no longer classed as the “poor relation”. 

I remained in the NHS for 27 years, eventually becoming Chief Pharmacist for South West Yorkshire Mental Health Trust. Along the way, I was chairman of the UK Psychiatric Pharmacy Group (UKPPG) and fully supported Celia Feetam in the development of the College of Mental Health Pharmacy (CMHP). 

In 2000, I gained a Master of Education in clinical pharmacy teaching from the University of Leeds, and that year I also gained the lifetime achievement award from the UKPPG. 

I retired from the NHS in 2013 and have since pursued my passion for developing pharmacists and pharmacy services by working in Academia at the University of Huddersfield. In 2014, I gained Mastery and became a Fellow of the Faculty of the RPS. However, the highlights of my career was when I became Fellow of the CMHP and later awarded as a Fellow of the RPS. I retain my full accreditation with the CMHP.