Mark Gilchrist FRPharmS has been appointed as the new Chair of the RPS Antimicrobial Expert Advisory Group, alongside other new members of the group.
The RPS Antimicrobial Expert Advisory Group advises on antimicrobial resistance, infection prevention and management, antimicrobial stewardship and any other issues that affect the pharmacy profession and the public. It provides a central point for requests for advice, expertise, input and comment from government and other organisations.
Mark Gilchrist is Consultant Pharmacist in Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Stewardship at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. As part of his academic commitment, he is a senior honorary lecturer at Imperial College London. He takes over as Chair from Dr Jacqui Sneddon.
Commenting on his appointment as Chair, Mark said: “I’m passionate about optimising antimicrobials and delighted to have the opportunity to support expert colleagues with vast knowledge and practical experience in the field to drive forward our agenda on antimicrobial resistance. The pharmacy profession is central to achieving The UK AMR action plan, which addresses the rising threat of AMR and its consequences.
“A grassroots approach is important to me. Implementing programmes that, for example, review appropriate antimicrobial prescribing, promote vaccinations and strengthen public messaging – they need to be owned locally with personalised goals to tackle AMR. We need to celebrate these whilst supporting the achievement of national action plans. I look forward to collaborating with the group on this and other strategies.”
The group has 14 members in total who represent every sector of practice and provide expertise and thought leadership across the antimicrobial agenda.
Find out more about the AMR Expert Advisory Group and panel members
Take a look at the RPS AMR training programme
More about our expert advisory groups
Read more RPS News.