Meet some of our RPS Fellows

I qualified in 1991 after completing the 4 year integrated degree at the University of Bradford. My first job as a pharmacist was as a basic grade in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, where I completed my postgraduate diploma in clinical pharmacy in 1993. I then moved to London as resident pharmacist in Lewisham Hospital before moving to Charing Cross Hospital to work in clinical services and clinical trials. In 1995, I moved to King’s College Hospital as their renal specialist pharmacist which was an area of huge interest to me and I was fortunate to be part of the UK Renal Pharmacy Group committee and helped edit the first edition of the Renal Drug Handbook.

I spent 6 years in King’s and eventually became the Associate Director of Pharmacy there before leaving in 2001 having obtained an MSc in Clinical Pharmacy Practice from London School of Pharmacy and a Diploma in Management Studies from Kingston University. After a year of travelling, I came back to the UK and worked as Clinical Services lead in Barts and the London before becoming Chief Pharmacist and Assistant Director of Operations in Ealing Hospital in 2004. After 5 years at Ealing, I was appointed as Chief of Pharmacy in Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals (BSUH) where I stayed from 2009-2014. Whilst at BSUH, I completed a Masters in Leadership and Quality Improvement (Generation Q). In 2014, I was appointed as Chief Pharmacist / Clinical Director for Clinical Support Services in the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. My interest in continuous improvement has allowed me to recently be seconded as Head of Quality Improvement in the Marsden and in 2020, I was privileged to be seconded as Director of Pharmacy for the Nightingale Hospital, London, helping set the hospital up and run the pharmacy service.

What does being a Fellow mean to me?

I have always tried to promote the profession in every job I have undertaken and believe in giving my teams the opportunity to showcase their skills as I feel proud in what we can achieve together. To have been made a Fellow of the RPS and have received this recognition by my peers is both humbling and a privilege. Thank you.

I have enjoyed a full and varied pharmacy career. I was a hospital pre-registration trainee and credit this amazing experience for gaining confidence as part of a multidisciplinary team, which has shaped my approach to my work. I then moved into community pharmacy management and became intrigued by the way that my customers would ask me if I’d seen a TV advert or wave newspaper cuttings at me. I wanted to know more about the information channels that people would use before coming to the pharmacy for minor ailments. I was fortunate to secure a PhD studentship on this topic in Manchester supervised by Peter Noyce and Judy Cantrill, who encouraged me to focus on one population group and thus sparked my keen interest in young people’s health.

As a post-doctoral researcher, I applied for a Harkness Fellowship in International Health Care Policy funded by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City. This enabled me to undertake a cross-national study of adolescents’ use of the Internet for information about health and medicines. I was assigned to the Division of Adolescent Health at the University of Rochester in New York State, USA. My mentor for the year was Jon Klein, a stellar paediatrician and adolescent health specialist, who made sure that I attended the right meetings and met the right people. Our cohort of Harkness Fellows came from the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. We are infamous as the ‘9/11’ cohort – the World Trade Centre attack happened during our ‘Introduction to Philanthropy in the United States’ induction session at the Commonwealth Fund’s headquarters on East 75th Street in Manhattan. We were privileged to witness the resilience of the American people and to share in their cultural struggle that year.

On my re-entry to the UK I was introduced to Ann McPherson, a legendary GP from Oxford who was the Chair of the RCGP Adolescent Task Group at that time. She warmly welcomed me into a multidisciplinary home of professionals working together to advocate for the improved health and wellbeing of teenagers – not an easy job with our societal and cultural backdrop of young people as self-involved risk-takers. We had a common and keen interest that transcended professional boundaries. Everyone had a role to play. Her untimely death from pancreatic cancer was a huge loss to healthcare, but I asked what we should remember as her legacy – her response – ‘Make it fun!’ 

I spent the next decade as a pharmacy academic in Manchester, Nottingham and Preston. I left the University sector in 2012 but have since enjoyed my role as an independent pharmacist researcher who specialises in pharmacy service evaluation and young people’s health – sometimes the two topics combine. I am most proud of the ‘Headmeds’ website that I helped the charity YoungMinds to create – it is a resource for young people taking medicines for mental health problems. We took statutory information about common psychoactive medicines and made it relevant to the concerns of young people – such as playing sport, concentration and exams, sex and relationships.

I have been a pharmacy politician, starting in student days as BPSA President, and serving as a Council Member of the former RPSGB. I have been a volunteer leader at local and regional level for the former RPSGB. More recently I have taken leadership roles in national and international multidisciplinary young people’s health organisations and currently serve as a Trustee for the UK Association for Young People’s Health, Vice-President for Europe of the International Association for Adolescent Health, and as a governing Council member of the NGO NCD Child. My most recent new venture is as a Regional Liaison Pharmacist working in Greater Manchester for RPS. I hope that I can deploy the skills and knowledge gained in all aspects of my career so far to support pharmacy leaders to achieve the local and national aspirations that we share for our profession.

What does being an RPS Fellow mean to me?

The designation FRPharmS is something that I have hoped to achieve since my student days. I appreciate that it is recognition of effort above and beyond your duty as a pharmacist. For my peers to have taken the time to consider and create an application for me is wonderful to know, and the confirmation by the Panel of Fellows that I have achieved distinction in the profession of pharmacy is something that I will always cherish. My career has been rather unusual, and my focus on young people not a traditional pharmacy endeavour, so I feel that this designation for me also validates my work as useful and relevant to our profession.

During his degree Alastair decided that he wanted to pursue a career designing new medicines and after a PhD at Nottingham with Professor SS Davis, where he investigated the GI transit of oral dosage forms, he joined 3M Health Care Ltd as a product development scientist. This first role was multi-faceted allowing him to use his pharmacy skills in developing new medicines such as Aldara Cream, Tambocor Beads and providing production support for the range of Difflam products. His pharmacy skills were also applied in the checking and release of clinical supplies. 

In 1994 Alastair joined Pfizer at a very exciting time as the small group in Sandwich, Kent was rapidly expanding. This gave Alastair a chance to work on a wide range of products including Diflucan, Istin, Viagra, Relpax, Tikosyn and Vfend. The success of these new medicines saw expansion in Sandwich such that it became a world leading R&D site. Career opportunities came with the growth of Pfizer and over a period of time Alastair’s managerial responsibility increased and he was privileged to run a group of approximately 150 scientists that included oral, parenteral and inhalation development as well as GMP clinical manufacture. Alastair’s role also allowed him the opportunity to work with and develop many pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists new to the industry. Alastair’s group continued to be successful in the development of new medicines including Sutent, Macugen, Celzentry, Toviaz and Bosulif. 

Working for a major global pharmaceutical company has allowed Alastair to work closely with colleagues around the world as new medicines were transferred to Pfizer’s production sites in Germany, France, Italy, India, Ireland, USA etc etc. Additionally, Alastair has interacted closely with regulatory authorities in the USA (FDA), Eu (EMA) and Japan (PMDA) on the approval of new medicines and also the introduction of new regulatory guidance and paradigms (Quality By Design). Staying intimately connected to science has allowed Alastair to present and publish the work of his group internationally and he is often invited to speak at conferences. 

More recently Alastair and his group have been working closely with UK schools of pharmacy (UCL, Nottingham, Bath, Aston, DeMontfort) in areas as diverse as paediatric medicine design, 3-D printing, Quality by Design and with European universities (Graz, Austria; Ghent, Belgium) on continuous processing and computational modelling. Alastair is a Management Board member of the University of Nottingham/UCL Doctoral Training Centre, a member of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences Regulatory Focus Group Steering Committee and a member of the RPharmS Science and Research Board. 

What does being a fellow mean to me? 

Becoming a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society is a great honour. It says to me that the work that I have done and the career path that I have followed has been valuable and is valued by my profession. It recognises the contribution that I have made in areas of pharmacy that I am passionate about namely the design of new medicines and the development of the next generation of pharmaceutical scientists and pharmacists. Importantly, being recognised by my peers as a Fellow hopefully recognises that the work that I have done is of value to patients too.

Aamer stayed on at Guy’s as a Resident Pharmacist for 18 months before leaving, to take up a post as a Prescribing Advisor for the Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Health Authority.  This was a short term post and Aamer then returned to Guy’s to take up a role in oncology as a Specialist Oncology Pharmacist and then moved from there into a role as a dispensary/clinical pharmacist where Aamer managed the outpatients side of the dispensary and provided ward based clinical pharmacy services in areas including general medicine and intensive care.  It was here that Aamer was introduced to training pre-registration pharmacists.

Aamer then decided to leave hospital pharmacy and took a year out to self-fund an MSc in Clinical Pharmacy at The Square in 1999.  This was an incredibly intense course and Aamer continued to locum in community pharmacy for the duration of his MSc.  Aamer’s research topic was identifying if the human error theory could be used to explain non adherence in patients taking medicines.  It was at this time that Aamer had a choice of pursuing a career path into either primary care or into education and training.  Aamer took the education and training option and was honoured to be working with Andy Kostrzewski, Alice Conway and Tony West.  Aamer was leading the pre-registration pharmacist training programme at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and has since then become synonymous with pre-registration pharmacist training.  Aamer has trained well over 250 trainees and has encountered many more through his work with the RPS pre-reg conferences team and his active involvement with the BPSA.

Aamer completed his MSc and a week later was at the University of Greenwich having enrolled on a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).  This was a two year, a day a week, course where Aamer was the only healthcare professional in his class.  Aamer learnt a lot from his colleagues about educating people in different settings ranging from youngsters in football teams to youngsters in youth offenders institutions.  Aamer has Qualified Teacher Status from his PGCE and became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Aamer was heavily involved with changes to NHS pay, terms and conditions as his employer was leading on this work for pharmacy; Aamer was instrumental in securing an appropriate pay band for pre-registration pharmacists.  Aamer then enrolled on an MA in Management Studies at Greenwich in 2003 and studied two evenings a week for three years culminating in a distinction in his MA.  His research project was a qualitative investigation into staff views of the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework.

Aamer joined the UKCPA Education and Training committee in 2008 and followed this up by securing a place on the UKCPA General Committee where he served six years from 2009 to 2015.  Aamer still serves on the UKCPA E&T committee.

In 2011, Aamer secured a place on the inaugural NHS Leadership Academy Clinical Fellowship where he was one of only three pharmacists on the programme and the only pharmacist in his cohort.  Aamer was asked to write an e-learning module for the Edward Jenner programme and is the only pharmacist to do this.  Aamer has been invited to speak on leadership at many events and conferences and has developed an interest in this area.

In 2015, Aamer was talked into applying for a place on the RPS English Pharmacy Board and secured a seat on the Board as the hospital pharmacy representative.  He has taken the opportunity to inform the Board about the developments in hospital pharmacy, and workplace education, to ensure that the Board remains aware of the real life challenges in the workplace.  Aamer has published many times in the PJ and is recognised as an opinion leader for both education and hospital issues.

Aamer was honoured to be selected by our charity, Pharmacist Support, to be their first ever runner of the London Marathon in 2017, after being their first 175 hero, and he grasped this opportunity to increase the awareness of our charity and the important work it does to help our students, trainees and pharmacist colleagues in times of difficulty.

What does being a Fellow mean to me?

Throughout my life, like many people, I have encountered many challenges and difficult moments and becoming a Fellow of the RPS is a huge honour as it is a recognition that with hard work, dedication and a positive mental attitude we can all inspire each other to be the best they can be.  I subscribe to the South African philosophy of Ubuntu which states ‘I am who I am because of who we all are’ and without the support of my family, my friends and colleagues, and all of my ex trainees who are doing great things for our profession I wouldn’t be where I am today.

His first job in the Western Isles hospital was under the supervision of Tim Dodd, who gave him great encouragement and helped him establish a career path. At that time, Chris says, there were no pharmacists working in the hospitals in Orkney and Shetland and he determined that remedying this situation would be a career ambition.

Chris moved to Aberdeen to gain experience in a bigger hospital. A year working as a resident pharmacist, he reflects, was the scariest year in his career and the learning curve was steep. Working at night in a large teaching hospital, however, helped him develop self-sufficiency and instilled confidence for the years ahead. 

Relocation to Orkney followed with the opportunity to work in community pharmacy. This business specialised in providing wholesale arrangements and logistical support to GP dispensing practices. Chris says it became clear at this time, that small GP practices in remote locations would benefit greatly from pharmacy support and that their patients really needed pharmacist input. He also developed an understanding that cooperation between dispensing doctors and community pharmacists had to be the way forward.  In the village of Stromness, he began to spend a half day a week working with the local GP practice, supporting them in medicine reviews and undertaking what we would now call medicine reconciliation.

At this time, formal prescribing advice was just starting and in 1997 NHS Orkney, and subsequently NHS Shetland, agreed to employ him with a remit to make savings through prescribing advice. The use of these savings helped fund the development of a hospital pharmacy service. Chris felt a need to brush up on his clinical pharmacy skills and gained a diploma in prescribing science. Pharmacists and technicians require a particular skill set to work in the islands. For example, pharmacists are often a link between consultants and junior doctors, with few middle grade doctors.

Chris has overseen new models for dispensing medicines in the islands which place community pharmacists at the hub. He believes that technology is the future and is keen to link practices with pharmacies. Robotics, even simple vending machines augmented by video linking, will be of increasing relevance. The need for clinical pharmacy, delivered as close to the patient as possible, is now written into Scottish Government legislation. An integrated arrangement exists in the Northern Isles where there are pharmacists with a range of clinical skills providing an outreach from the hospitals to even the most remote GP practices.

Prescriber roles, medicines safety and improving patient experience are crucial elements of modern pharmacy. Additionally, a particular skill set is required in remote pharmacy; skills include a willingness to work confidently across boundaries and an ability to apply specialist knowledge to general practice. Getting pharmacists with the right clinical skills is difficult in the islands and these pharmacists need the confidence to work ‘on the edge’ of established practice. Chris continues to work towards establishing more formal training and career pathways for remote pharmacy practice.

Throughout his career Chris has tried to network widely, something which is not easy when living on an island. The pharmacy community in Scotland is relatively small and Chris does as much as he can to support other pharmacy leaders across Scotland, taking a stint recently as vice chair of the Scottish Directors of Pharmacy. He has also been a member of the Scottish Medicines Consortium and provides input into the Yellow Card Scheme. Chris too, has a keen interest in developing the role of pharmacists and technicians within care settings and has contributed to this work nationally.

Chris believes that the success that he has seen in his team has been achieved through allowing pharmacists to develop their own interests within practice, responding to patient need and prioritising their own work accordingly. He suggests the success equates to the extent to which staff stretch themselves, particularly in their clinical work. They need to be inspired to value their own judgments, and to be supported in becoming less risk averse. Where pharmacists concentrate on effective prescribing, safety and ultimately efficiency follow.

What does being a Fellow mean to me?

Sometimes "working on the edge", geographically and professionally is a lonely place. So it means a great deal to me that I have been recognised by my peers as having added to the practice of pharmacy. It is an honour to be awarded this RPS Fellowship by my profession. I believe being awarded the fellowship says much about my pharmacy colleagues in Orkney and Shetland too – their skill, enthusiasm and dedication make me very proud.

Rena subsequently stepped into community pharmacy initially as a deputy manager and consequently as a manager for Safeway Pharmacy. Alongside her day job, she went on to be awarded her Masters from King’s College London. She developed her interests in primary care health management role during this period. Her focus was improving time management skills for community pharmacies and performed leading research into this field. 

The testament to her research applicability was that the project was adopted across all branches of a large, national multiple chain pharmacy. In 1995, Rena was offered a post of IMPACT pharmacist within Bromley to provide evidence based prescribing messages in support of the local health agenda. 

Her interest in primary care health management was enhanced in her next job in 1998 as a Principal Primary Care Pharmacist for Croydon Commissioning Group, providing prescribing and clinical support to GP practices. As one of the first pharmacist cohort, joining these new roles, she was instrumental in raising the profile of practice based pharmacist including identifying medicines management work streams that enabled improvements in patient outcomes, by linking national initiatives such as medicines management collaborative and other service redesign projects.   

Rena has been pioneering this role and took up a full time practice based role in 2003. After qualifying as an independent pharmacist prescriber, she was offered an equity partnership in her current practice and has been instrumental in raising the merits of this role both at a local and national level. In 2013, Rena’s role was identified as an exemplar model for the report by Nuffield Trust, commissioned by Royal Pharmaceutical Society on future models of care, delivered through pharmacy. Her path has also been the focus of discussion at the King’s Fund health think tank in discovering new models for pharmacy.

She currently combines her clinical role as an associate for Hartland Way Surgery and her management role as an associate director for Greenwich CCG. She is a founding member of RPS’s Innovators Forum, on NAPC’s Purposeful Leaders forum, on the editorial board for Pharmacy Management, London lead for PCPA forum for practice based pharmacists amongst many other roles. In 2013 Rena was also a recipient of RPS’s Pharmaceutical Care Award for her contribution to the pharmacist led hypertension clinics in general practice. In 2012 Rena was awarded Asian Women’s Achievement Award for Social and Humanitarian sector for her charitable activities.

What does being a Fellow mean to me? 

I am truly passionate about being a pharmacist and the contribution we as a profession offer to patient care. I have strived to raise the profile of the profession and equally want future pharmacists to be proud of their roles and contributions. RPS has been instrumental in providing leadership and I am delighted to be offered a fellowship. I thank my nominees, peers and the panel for this recognition. It is indeed a privilege and I shall continue with renewed vigour to be an emissary for RPS and hope to share my experiences and inspire others to aim high. 

Rachel chose a Pharmacy degree so that she could learn medicinal chemistry, graduated from the University of Bath in 1988, and registered in 1989 after an industrial/hospital pre-registration training. As part of her pre-registration year with Merrell Dow, she spent six months training in a hospital pharmacy and changed path, instead of a PhD in medicinal chemistry, she started as a resident pharmacist at Charing Cross Hospital, London. She was the renal pharmacist during the day, on the same floor as the intensive care unit, and due to staff illness and the ICU renal specialisms, she ended up first covering, and then becoming one of the first specialist ICU pharmacists in the UK. Intensive care medicine allowed her to develop a love of complex clinical problem-solving, pharmacokinetics, real multidisciplinary clinical teams and the NHS. She was a hospital pharmacist in the NHS from 1989 to 2007. She has worked in academia since 1992, after developing an interest and then obtaining a PhD in health economics, a very unfashionable subject at the time.

Once at the University of Manchester as Clinical Lecturer from 1996, Rachel became interested in the economics of medicines non-adherence and pursued this interest as a Harkness Fellow (2004/5) at Harvard Medical School. After 11 years at the Manchester Pharmacy School, Rachel has been in her current post since 2007. Her research focus is the application of applied health economics and economic evaluation to medicines policy, prescribing and consumption. Her research has spanned errors, adherence, anaesthesia, surgery, arthritis, CF, management of the frail elderly and early intervention in liver disease. Health economics has taken over from medicinal chemistry as a lifelong intellectual challenge. Navigating the moral maze of what we can afford to do in health care, how we choose which treatments to fund unmasked the deepest values in society, and the complexities and constant change in methods is all-consuming. She has published textbooks in critical care and health economics. She has been a member of a NICE technology appraisal committee since 2006, and the Health Services Research Network (HSRN) Executive Board. She is involved in the current medicines optimisation policy agenda and led the evaluation of the New Medicines Service that contributed to its' full funding by NHS England. 

WHAT DOES BEING A FELLOW MEAN TO ME?

In my work I am often the only pharmacist in the room and I am proud to carry that badge. I have had the opportunity to work in the pharmaceutical industry, the NHS, community and travel pharmacies, spend a year at Harvard, work with people from other countries and disciplines, become part of a NICE appraisal committee, work with the Department of Health, and I am fortunate enough to be a Professor at the University of Nottingham. I have met and worked with health care professionals, academics, researchers, patients, students and policy makers from all backgrounds. Coming into contact with so many bright, motivated people from whom I can learn has only been made possible by being a Member, and now a Fellow, of this underrated profession.

He was the last person to complete his first six months pre-registration training before attending a school of pharmacy which he served at Boots in Leytonstone, East London.. He subsequently became a qualified School teacher and in 1993 obtained a Masters in Health Management, which is very similar to a Health focused MBA, from City University London.

Barry practised as a community proprietor pharmacist for almost his entire career which spanned forty five years. He owned eleven pharmacies over that period usually never more than four or five at any one time. He sold his core four pharmacies that were in suburban Essex in 2008 to Lloydspharmacy and until very recently owned and managed a delightful seaside pharmacy in Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

Barry taught science in secondary schools including a school for the deaf in the 1980s, and for the last 20 years has taught Pharmacy Management in the UCL School of Pharmacy as well as occasional appearances at UEA and KCL.

Barry’s company was an Investor in People and was awarded fourth best small company to work for by the Sunday Times in 2004

Barry served on various local pharmacy and multidisciplinary health authority committees as well as being a UK representative of the Alliance UniChem Pharmacy Forum, which meant visiting a number of European countries and interacting with his peers in those countries.

Barry was awarded the MBE for services to pharmacy in the New Year’s Honours list, 2008.

What does being a Fellow mean to me?

Being nominated by my academic peers and appointed by the RPS as a Fellow was a very great honour and something that as a community pharmacist I had felt was beyond my reach. I have now just retired from practising community pharmacy but continue to teach undergraduates at the various schools of pharmacy. I hope my experiences will inspire them to excel at their chosen branch of our wonderful profession.

Madeleine has worked as a pharmacist in hospital community and prison settings, as a lecturer in further and higher education, a post graduate pharmacy tutor and has owned her own pharmacy and post office. Madeleine is a volunteer with Pharmacist Support.  

She has been a member of health boards since 1988 including Scunthorpe District Health Authority, Humberside Family Health Services Authority, North Lincolnshire Primary Care Group and South Humber Health Authority (as Chairman).

Up until November 2013, Madeleine was Chairman of Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDASH) which provides Mental Health, Learning Disability, Community and other related services to North and North East Lincolnshire, Doncaster, Rotherham and Manchester. She was first appointed to the post in November 2001 when the Trust was known as Doncaster and South Humber Healthcare NHS Trust.

In 2002, after Madeleine’s impressive track record was noticed by the Department of Trade and Industry’s Women & Equality Unit In 2002, she was among a select number of women in high profile public positions chosen to take tea at 10 Downing Street with the then Prime Minister’s wife, Cherie Blair. The occasion also marked the launch of a guide to encourage more women into public life.

What does being a Fellow mean to me?

I have had a most interesting and fulfilling career to date and have always appreciated the wonderful start that being a pharmacist has meant to me. I have never forgotten this and as a Fellow of the RPS, I still read my journal each week, keep up with my pharmacist friends and most importantly am a volunteer with Pharmacist Support as a listening friend and home visitor. In this role I do want to give something back for all the years that pharmacy has given me. The fellowship has meant a great deal to me and I am proud to have achieved this honour and the nomination of so many kind colleagues. 

Clare was named the Medical Journalist Association’s medical journalist of the year in 2004, and from 2003 to 2014 was the Pharmaceutical Journal’s Scotland correspondent. During a period in community pharmacy from 2005 to 2008, she completed the supplementary and independent prescribing qualifications and ran prescribing clinics from the pharmacy. 

Clare currently works for NHS Highland as Lead Pharmacist for quality improvement. Her role is based in primary care and is focused on developing new models of pharmaceutical care, reducing clinical variation and improving medicines safety.

Over the past 10 years, Clare has worked with colleagues in North and West Highland to develop a new pharmacy team that delivers high quality pharmaceutical care. It includes pharmacist roles that support safe and effective medicines use in an integrated health and social care team, plus a significantly increased role for pharmacists in GP practices. The pharmacy team is now viewed by the wider NHS team as an essential clinical service which is delivering the aims of Prescription for Excellence.  

Clare recently completed two quality improvement and clinical leadership programmes: the Scottish Quality and Safety Fellowship, and the US-based Intermountain Advanced Training Programme. These qualifications have framed much of her recent work in improvement and innovation. 

In 2016, Clare led a team that was awarded a Health Foundation “Innovating for Improvement” award to develop a pharmacy telehealth service. The aim is to deliver pharmaceutical care to patients of dispensing practices in remote and rural areas of the Scottish Highlands. The service, called Pharmacy Anywhere, provides remote pharmacist consultations by video and is being tested during 2017. It builds on Clare’s earlier work in developing a face-to-face service in which pharmacists visited dispensing practices to provide medication reviews, and the creation of quality standards for dispensing practices.  

Prior to this, NHS Highland was one of four NHS boards involved in the Scottish Patient Safety Programme’s Pharmacy in Primary Care pilot. Clare was the lead pharmacist for the Highland team which involved both community pharmacies and dispensing practices. The pilot focused on reducing risks associated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and took a whole-team approach to ensure every patient was given appropriate advice whenever an NSAID was dispensed or sold.

Working with consultant physician colleague Dr Martin Wilson, Clare created the medicine sick day rules cards which aim to increase patient awareness of the medicines that should be stopped temporarily during a dehydrating illness (because continuing to take them increases the risk of serious adverse outcomes, such as acute kidney injury). The Highland project was successful and the cards were subsequently adopted by the Scottish Patient Safety Programme, as well as by hundreds of NHS organisations, pharmacies and GP practices across the UK, plus pilots in the USA and Austria.

Publications include a high risk medicines study which demonstrated that targeted medication reviews by pharmacists reduces the risk of adverse outcomes; and an evaluation of a pharmacist medication review service to dispensing GP practices (in press). Clare has also presented work at the RPS conference about dispensing practices (poster 2) and the medicine sick day rules (poster 98).

Clare was in the first wave of pharmacists to become a member of the RPS Faculty in 2013. 

What does having an RPS Fellowship mean to you?

After starting her family she became a locum, which involved maternity cover in a community trust and a job share at Bradford Royal Infirmary in the ENT and Eye hospital, where she developed her interest in ophthalmology and ENT. Following this, Elaine took a City and Guilds course in Training and Development and developed five modules for a pharmacy counter assistant course which was accredited by the College of Pharmacy Practice, and worked part time for a training company. 

This led to the role of lecturer and course co-ordinator at Sheffield College for the BTEC in Pharmacy Services. She was assessor and internal verifier for the NVQ level 3 in Pharmacy services.  She was also an external verifier for Edexcel. She also worked part time in a Medicine information unit at Leeds teaching hospital Trust.  

After several years the role of Advanced Clinical Pharmacist, Ophthalmology, ENT, Max-fax, and dental become available at Leeds and she was able to continue her interest in ENT and Ophthalmology. Whilst in this new position, Elaine obtained her clinical pharmacy diploma via distance learning from Queens University Belfast. 

She has maintained her interest in training by becoming a pre-registration pharmacy tutor, as well as preparing and delivering training material for the UKCPA conference in ophthalmology. She is also a CPD assessor for the General Pharmacy Council. 

Elaine is a member of the United Kingdom Ophthalmic Pharmacy group and is a former chair. As a representative of the UKOPG she has given two talks at the Clinical Pharmacy Congress and is liaising with the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in the updating of an ophthalmic specials list, in a bid to improve patient safety and to reduce the cost to the NHS.  Elaine believes that any pharmacist who looks after ophthalmology should become a member of the group as it provides excellent support and information on ophthalmic pharmacy.

Elaine has written several articles on ophthalmology for the Pharmaceutical Journal and Optometry today.  

WHAT DOES BEING A FELLOW MEAN TO ME?

I am very honoured to have been nominated by my colleagues, especially as I have learnt so much and had so much support from them. I have had a varied and fulfilling career and appreciate how fortunate I have been. Pharmacists cannot work in isolation to provide the best service for our patients; we need to support of each other and the various organizations especially the Royal Pharmaceutical Society to develop our roles. I have found their publications, especially the Clinical Pharmacist to have been a very useful source of information.  

Two years later he moved back to the North East of England to work as a formulary pharmacist in the hospitals in Sunderland; where he says he owes a huge amount to the opportunities he was afforded by the then Chief Pharmacist Tony Dott. David worked very closely with many of the Trust’s clinical heads of service and played a major role supporting the local Drug and Therapeutics Committee; this would serve him well later in his career when he helped establish the North of Tyne Area Prescribing Committee. 

After four years in Sunderland, he began to spend half his week working with a dozen or so GP practices, supporting them in achieving quality targets and improving the economic use of medicines. Whilst here, he was given huge opportunity for personal development, not least by being supported to complete an in-house senior leadership development programme, a diploma in health service management, a diploma in business administration and then an MBA. In 1999, he moved to Durham as the Head of Pharmacy where he brought about significant change with an almost doubling of staff numbers and an increasingly obvious focus on clinical pharmacy service provision. 

Three years later, he was appointed to his current post as Clinical Director and Chief Pharmacist at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The early years were dominated by turning around a service which was struggling to deliver all that pharmacy can, to one which is recognised for innovation and quality. He has sought to create an environment in which staff development is actively encouraged and innovative pharmacy practice is allowed to flourish. 

He has over 30 publications in professional journals and has supported dozens of his staff to present oral and poster presentations at national and international conferences. His team has won several awards for innovative pharmacy practice, including winner of the audience choice Pharmaceutical Care Award in 2014 (for work in care homes) and runner-up in 2012 (demonstrating the role of pharmacy assistants in reducing omitted medicines). 

David’s future strategy for pharmacy involves developing an integrated approach to medicines optimisation across the local health economy of Northumberland. This will see his team of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working closely with community pharmacists, to support patients whether they are in hospital, GP practices, care homes or their own home. 

He puts a lot of the success for his service down to the extent to which all clinical and technical staff are encouraged to stretch themselves; particularly in their clinical work, the development of the generalist pharmacist prescriber and the unerring emphasis his team places on medicines safety and the quality of patient experience. 

Throughout his career, David has taken every opportunity to learn from others, to share and adopt good ideas and best practice. He has created a number of novel partnerships and developed a large network of trusted colleagues through which advice, information and support is freely shared. He has also chaired a number of local and national groups including the Association of Teaching Hospital Pharmacists. As well as contributing to a number of national publications and professional advisory groups, he helped establish the RPS Hospital Expert Advisory Group and is now an active member.

WHAT DOES BEING A FELLOW MEAN TO ME?

I have worked with a lot of really excellent people throughout my career; their energy, enthusiasm and commitment to delivering the very best care for patients has been a huge motivation to me and helped me to drive the development of services that I have been privileged to be associated with. I am honoured to have been awarded RPS Fellowship by my peers.  It will inspire me to encourage other colleagues to develop and adopt best practice and in so doing help ensure that the pharmacy profession continues to realise its full potential in the future provision of effective healthcare.

After working as a basic grade pharmacist at the Queen Elizabeth and Wisbech hospitals in Norfolk, he moved to City Hospitals Sunderland where is developed as a clinical pharmacist under John Davidson and Margaret Ledger-Scott. Whilst working here, Matthew set up a pharmacist led rheumatology clinic to provide additional advice and support for patients in this specialism and help them to use their medicines and devices as their disease progression affected their grasp and range of movement.

Matthew moved from secondary care practice to community pharmacy and worked for Clinichem, then Peak pharmacy in the Chesterfield area. He worked with the development team of Peak pharmacy and Bayer pharmaceuticals to set up an Hba1c monitoring service from his community pharmacy, engaging with his local practices and patient groups. It was whilst working as a community pharmacist here that Matthew took on the role of local tutor for CPPE in north Nottinghamshire.

Having recognised the challenges of setting up new services in community pharmacy, Matthew was pleased to move to a role as a service development manager with the National Pharmaceutical Association (now National Pharmacy Association). Working as a small team of five covering the UK and Northern Ireland, Matthew supported pharmacists as they set up new services across the North of England and the East Midlands. As well as his interest in diabetes, he developed expertise in managing head lice infections; this service proving to be the most popular meeting the needs of local populations, prescribers and being well placed to the skills and accessibility of the community pharmacist.

He moved from this role to become the assistant director for the NHS plan at CPPE, taking responsibility for developing the learning support for the PSNC medicines management project, NHS Direct Community Pharmacy Referral and NHS Repeat dispensing. He had a small team who began the developmental work that lead to the current CPPE programmes for hospital pharmacy ([email protected]) and our roll out of learning support for pharmacy technicians. He became deputy director of CPPE and now leads the delivery of face to face events across the country, supported by an excellent team of regional managers and CPPE tutors.

Matthew has shown his commitment to his own ongoing learning throughout his career, not just through CPPE learning programmes but through a range of formal postgraduate opportunities. He has clinical pharmacy qualifications from the School of Pharmacy and Queens University Belfast, Medical education qualifications from University of Dundee and an MPhil from Manchester University. He is currently working towards his EdD from the University of Leeds. He was awarded Fellow of the Faculty of the RPS in the first wave and is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

WHAT DOES BEING A FELLOW MEAN TO ME?

Being made a fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society means a lot to me. It says that my peers and those I look up to have recognised a value in the work that I do and see that it has worth for the wider profession. I am proud to be a pharmacist and this award says that my profession is proud to have me.

As a pharmacist, Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) tutor for pharmacists and an academic, Professor Jane Portlock has spent a number of years creating and delivering pharmacy education to support the enhancement and development of the profession. These roles have led to research interests in pharmacy education including the development of placement education using the “Pharmacy Live” concept of immersive education, the development and evaluation of new roles for community pharmacists and continued research into Healthy Living Pharmacy.  Her current role is Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth.

Even as an undergraduate, Jane attended the local branch meetings that were open to students, recognising the value of meeting to hear about developments and share practice. She became involved in leadership of the Portsmouth branch almost immediately on arrival and her role continues with membership of Wessex Local Practice Forum Committee. In her role as Chair of the local branch over more than ten years, Jane and the committee led a busy annual programme of clinical, professional and social events, providing opportunities for communication and mutual support for pharmacists and an insight into changes in the pharmacy profession.

What does being a Fellow mean to me?

I feel that membership of RPS is vital for all pharmacists, it demonstrates that we are taking our profession seriously, ensuring we keep in touch with each other across all sectors which leads to a greater understanding and joined up working.  Our professional body is even more important today, as it promotes our profession, provides support for the development of the highest standards of practice and challenges us to future-proof our roles.  It is a huge honour to be offered a fellowship of an organisation I have been proud to be part of since the day I qualified.

His research focuses on the effective delivery of such information for patients, and is undertaken in the context of a partnership approach to medicine taking. This ensures that the patient’s perspective is at the centre of decision-making.

Theo spent 20 years in hospital pharmacy, combining practice with research and teaching, before moving into academia in 1996. He became the inaugural Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Leeds in 2000, where he works at research, practice and policy level, producing outputs which have informed significant improvements nationally, and internationally. He advises a number of government agencies internationally on patient information about medicines.

Theo’s academic work is complemented by the company which he co-founded, Luto Research Ltd, which spun out of the University in 2009. In the 10 years since user testing legislation was introduced for patient information leaflets, Luto Research (www.luto.co.uk), has grown to be one of the most influential and largest providers of health information user testing in Europe. Collaborative work between Luto Research and the University includes the revision and testing of the ‘Cautionary and Advisory Labels’ for the BNF, and similar work on the Lithium booklet for patients with the National Patient Safety Agency.

In 2010, Theo was appointed to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society ‘Expert Advisory Panel on Pharmaceutical Science’ and in 2012 he became an expert member of the 'Patient and Public Engagement Advisory Group' of the Commission on Human Medicines, UK. Internationally, in 2009, he founded a research collaboration between the University of Leeds and the Universities of Sydney, Wisconsin & North Carolina, under the auspices of the World Universities Network. He is also an active member of the Pharmacy Information section of FIP and was invited to make a presentation at the Centennial World Pharmacy Congress in Amsterdam in 2012.

What does being a Fellow mean to me?

I am proud to have been a life-long member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, and becoming a ‘Fellow’ means a great deal. It recognises the work done over the years, always in collaboration with colleagues and wider teams, and supports the role we all should embrace as ambassadors for the profession and the Society – in the great company of the many other ‘Fellows’.

Currently he leads on various pharmacy-led medicines optimisation projects at a consultant pharmacist level at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT). Academically, he lectured at King’s College London and the University of Leeds, developing and delivering modules and courses in clinical pharmacy and medicines optimisation to undergraduate and post-graduate pharmacists, nurses, doctors, and cardio-physiologists. Recently he introduced ward based pharmacy teaching rounds in cardiology; a new and innovative way of empowering the pharmacy team to deliver the medicines optimisation agenda.

His doctorate thesis investigated medicine adherence among patients with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) in an attempt to develop tools that can be used in clinical practice to understand the medicines-taking experience of patients with CAD. The findings of his study, First-Reported Adherence vs. Non-Adherence Investigation in West Yorkshire, were presented at reputable international platforms such as the European Society of Cardiology and American College of Cardiology Congresses. Building on this work, he was awarded two research grants to translate these findings into practice. In addition to the virtual cardiology medicines optimisation clinics which he delivers alongside the cardiology team in primary care, he has started Advanced Medicines Optimisation Outpatient clinics to support cardiology patients in hospital, and in particular after a myocardial infarction. 

Rani is a UKCPA cardiology committee member, and has lead and contributed to many national Education and Training activities. He chairs the Yorkshire and North East Cardiovascular Pharmacy Network. He led the development of the validated national GTN (glyceryltrinitrate) advice card which was recognised by NICE (2014) and was awarded the Hilda Knowles Award for Innovation and Excellence in the Care of Adult Patients, LTHT (2011) and the NHS award for Patient involvement, LTHT (2004).

Internationally, Rani is the only pharmacist serving as a Science Committee member at the European Society of Cardiology - Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions. He is working with other healthcare professionals across Europe on opportunities to ascertain the most effective model(s) for supporting cardiovascular care both across the trajectory of care; from prevention, detection, treatment and management and care of cardiovascular disease. He is also a partner and supporter of the University of Huddersfield’s international exchange pharmacy programme with the Nesbitt College of Pharmacy Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, USA. As an ambassador of UK pharmacy, he worked with leaders in the Health Authority, Abu Dhabi to support the development of clinical pharmacists in the United Arab Emirates. 

WHAT DOES BEING A FELLOW MEAN TO ME?

I am privileged and honoured that my peers recognised my work and deemed it of a Fellow calibre. This makes me feel more proud of my profession and gives me more drive to continue championing the leading role that pharmacists have in improving patient’s well-being, translating research into clinical practice, and advancing the delivery of cutting-edge healthcare across boundaries. 

 In 1998, she was appointed Pharmaceutical Adviser for the North and East Devon Health Authority, where there were various organisational changes. In 2004, she made national headlines as the first pharmacist to be offered a partnership at Wallingbrook Health Centre. She was also one of the first to qualify as an independent prescriber and was instrumental in founding the Nurse Prescribing course at Plymouth University. As Chair of the Faculty of Prescribing and Medicines Management (FPMM) of the College of Pharmacy Practice (CPP) 2004-2008, FPMM launched the Advance Practitioner Framework (APF), a precursor of the RPS Faculty today. Her peers regard her as a pioneer and the Guardian profiled her role in 2006. In 2007, she was awarded ‘Pharmacy Professional of the Year’ and also given a special award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Primary and Community Care’ by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain for her pioneering role as a pharmacist working with GPs. She was appointed Executive Partner in 2010 for her business and leadership skills. In 2013, she was elected to the Executive and Council of the National Association of Primary Care (NAPC) and is currently the Innovation Lead for their Practice Innovation Network (PIN). She has held various leadership positions in professional bodies as well as being a qualified director and trustee. She is currently Chair of Devon Health a GP federation of 82 practices covering a population of c.500,000 working with local GP networks to deliver new models of care.

What does being a Fellow mean to me?

Pharmacy is my vocation, allowing me to give my personal best to the public I serve every day. The many facets of my career has always been driven by the need to aim high, to move the boundaries of the profession and to demonstrate that a pharmacist has so much to offer in so many ways especially in patient care and improving the health of the nation.

I feel extremely honored and privileged that my peers have deemed me ‘good enough’ to be appointed a Fellow of the RPS, something that means so much more that words could ever say. Thank you.

This interest was nurtured in her next job in 1996 as a community pharmacist providing pharmaceutical care services to 6 large care homes as part of multidisciplinary teams of GPs and nurses. In 1999 she embarked on an exciting NHS primary care career in Lambeth and has had a regional expert advisory role at NHS Specialist Pharmacy Services since 2003.

Lelly has been at the forefront of cutting edge pharmacy practice. She was among the first cohorts of NHS prescribing advisers, non-medical prescribers and was appointed to the first UK community-based Consultant Pharmacist post in 2008. She set up the first ever Lambeth Community Pharmacists Forum (2000) and peer support group for community based clinical pharmacists (2014).

She has received recognition and awards for her innovative work which have been widely disseminated and successfully replicated by other organisations to advance clinical practice. These include the PresQIPP awards for Dressings (2013), Shared decision making (2014), 2 London wide projects on the single assessment process (2003) and antipsychotics prescribing in dementia (2013). Within and outside the profession, she advocates for pharmacists to be recognised as medicines experts and valuable members within multidisciplinary teams. She has a vision and drive to develop a sustainable model for “community clinical pharmacy teams” for frail older people and has supported a regional network of pharmacists working with older people since 2003.

She is well published and cited for her work, including writing the CPPE older people pack and developing several NHS resources. She is a guest lecturer at the South Bank University non-medical prescribing course, UCL and KCL BPharm and MSc programs.

Lelly is a member of the RPS Innovation Forum and represented the RPS at the Healthwatch England Special Inquiry for safe discharge (2014), Now or Never Report (10 Downing street) and NICE stakeholder meetings. She has contributed to national guidance through membership of advisory groups including NICE Social Care for older people with multi-morbidities Guidance Development Group, DoH Guidance on PwSI in older people, National Care Forum for Medicines Safety in Care Homes. She has proactively facilitated partnership working between the NHS, Adult Social Care and domiciliary care providers to support older people taking medicines in domiciliary care and reduce the inappropriate use of monitored dosage systems.

WHAT DOES BEING A FELLOW MEAN TO ME?

I have enjoyed a varied and rewarding Pharmacy career and I am proud to be a pharmacist. On a daily basis, pharmacists are presented with opportunities to make a real difference to improve patient outcomes through optimising the use of medicines. The RPS supports us by providing practical tools needed to deliver high quality care and develop professionally. As a relatively inexperienced practitioner, the Pharmaceutical Journal and other RPS guidance relating to medicines use in social care settings, care homes, at discharge as well as the Legal and Ethical Factsheets were invaluable items in my “professional toolkit”. So it has been a privilege to have had the opportunity now as an expert practitioner to be an ambassador for the RPS and contribute in many ways to equip others and advance the profession. Even more flattering, is recognition of my contribution, by peers and the panel, for following my passion and doing my “day job”!

Lucy subsequently achieved her membership of the College of Pharmacy Practice and worked with the College until it was formally closed in 2014.

Her interest in ophthalmology began at Aston when she undertook complimentary study work with the department of Ophthalmic Optics. She was appointed staff pharmacist in charge at the Birmingham & Midland Eye Centre in 1982 and currently holds the post of Lead Ophthalmic Pharmacist at the Birmingham & Midland Eye Centre.

Lucy works as a pharmacist both in the hospital and in a GP practice, and is a visiting lecturer in ophthalmic therapeutics at Aston and City Universities. She has co-authored the chapter on glaucoma in Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics since its first edition and reviews the Therapeutics chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Ophthalmology and the CPPE learning programme, Pharmaceutical Care of the Eye. She writes for the Pharmaceutical Journal and a range of optometry journals and is a professional member and volunteer reader for the International Glaucoma Association.

 She was a founder member of the United Kingdom Ophthalmic Pharmacy Group, has held the position of chair of the group on three occasions and has organised four of the group’s six-monthly meetings including the 2014 20th anniversary joint conference with Hospital Optometrists. She has worked as UKOPG representative as an advisor to the British National Formulary and is the group’s representative to the Royal College of Ophthalmologists with whom she has worked on the publication of joint guidance on the prescribing of ophthalmic special order preparations.

What does being a Fellow mean to me?

The Society works on behalf of pharmacists to encourage maintenance of the highest standards and to promote the role of the profession and the valuable work done by all its members. With the support of my colleagues, I have tried to reflect this in my own speciality and I was delighted to have been nominated by my peers as a Fellow in recognition of my efforts.  I have always taken great pride in my membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and gaining my fellowship has meant so much to me. I thank all my colleagues for working together to make the speciality of ophthalmic pharmacy what it is today.

Initial offshore visits revealed that oil companies and their medical advisors could benefit from informed pharmaceutical opinion. These observations led him to undertake a research project through Bradford University into all pharmaceutical aspects of offshore health care (including a detailed study of relevant legislation) which resulted in a PhD.

Brian developed a separate business to deal with oil and gas companies called Wells Offshore. This is now part of the Day Lewis Group and Brian is retained as Offshore Pharmaceutical Consultant. He also works as Pharmaceutical Advisor to FrontierMEDEX, which supplies medical staff and supervision to overseas locations. 

Brian provides pharmaceutical input into the design and content of offshore and remote overseas medical formularies for a variety of (mainly) oil companies.  He is also the only pharmacist on the external advisory committee of the Institute of Remote Healthcare and this year attended a Remote Healthcare Workshop organised by the Institute in Bergen, which developed a series of protocols (and medical inventory lists) for use in very remote areas with sub-zero temperatures.

Brian has used his skills as a pharmacist, together with is knowledge of the organization and legislative structure of the UK and international oil industry, to assist oil companies with the safe and defensible selection and use of medicines in remote situations.

• He is keen to educate others in this area of work.
• He has attended and presented at International Oil Industry Healthcare Conferences in Houston.
• He lectures on HSE Rig Medics Training Courses.
• He gives talks to other pharmacists about his work.
• He has served the profession at local and regional level.
• In developing his knowledge in the selection, supply, storage and use of medicines in the offshore environment, he has enhanced the reputation of the British Pharmacist. 

What does being a Fellow mean to me?

I have always been an enthusiastic member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and strongly support its principles. For this reason, I was delighted to be offered a fellowship as it is a flattering recognition of my (unusual) area of work by my peers.