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The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has appointed Laura Wilson as Director for Scotland commencing 23rd January 2023. Laura, is currently Policy and Practice Lead for RPS in Scotland. She is accountable for bringing national RPS policy to life for members in Scotland, while contributing to the GB wide professional leadership agenda. She will work closely with the Scottish Pharmacy Board, senior NHS officials and other key stakeholders across the breadth of the pharmacy profession and beyond to ensure pharmacy is on the forefront of healthcare in Scotland. She joins the existing team of RPS Country Directors, which includes Elen Jones, Director for Wales and James Davies, Director for England and will report directly to the Chief Executive. Laura Wilson said: "I am delighted to be appointed Director for Scotland having worked as part of the RPS Scotland team as the policy and practice lead. It will be an honour to continue the fantastic work started by former Director Clare Morrison to bring Pharmacy 2030, our vision for pharmacy in Scotland in the future, to life and supporting pharmacy teams to deliver person centred care.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has re-elected Andrew Carruthers as chair of RPS Scotland Pharmacy Board. Andrew is a Medicines Governance pharmacist within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, where he has a clinical commitment to Care of the Elderly. Prior to becoming a pharmacist, he studied Pharmacology at the University of Glasgow, and maintains a keen interest in pharmacokinetics and research. In his address for the position, he said: "In my second term I want to continue to support and drive the introduction of RPS Ambassadors and the creation of an online RPS community." "As a previous RPS local coordinator, I've seen first-hand that RPS Local events are a great forum to formally support the training and development of local pharmacists. With input from our members and RPS staff we could share learning, inspire, and enable development, and build a supportive online community for the profession." He was the RPS Local Co-ordinator for Greater Glasgow and Clyde for 3 years, then he co-opted on to the Scottish Pharmacy Board (SPB) in 2018 and have been an active and effective member of the board. He was re-elected to the board in 2021 and he stood and was elected as Chair.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has announced the results of the elections to vacant positions on the RPS Scottish and English Country Boards that took place at the meeting on June 18. The Scottish Pharmacy Board elected Jonathan Burton, FRPharmS, as their new Chair and Audrey Thompson to the RPS Assembly, the organisation's governing body. Jonathan is a community pharmacist and an independent prescriber affiliated with the Right Medicine Pharmacy group in Stirling. He has played an integral role in the inception, development and delivery of Pharmacy First services in Scotland. He is an RPS Fellow and received an MBE in 2018 for services to healthcare. Jonathan is also the recipient of the 2023 RPS Charter Award. He previously served as Chair of the Scottish Pharmacy Board from 2019 to 2021. "Serving as Chair is a great privilege," said Jonathan while expressing his delight at being elected as the Chair of the Scottish Pharmacy Board.

The voter turnout in England for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's English Pharmacy Board election dropped to 7.9 per cent this year. Out of a total of 19,512 eligible individuals, only 1,534 decided to vote. The RPS English Board received ten nominations for five vacancies this year; therefore an election was conducted. One nomination was received for the three vacancies on the Welsh Pharmacy Board. Three nominations were received for the three vacancies on the Scottish Pharmacy Board. Therefore, no election was conducted in pharmacy boards in Wales or Scotland. RPS president Claire Anderson said: "It's disappointing that the voter turnout in England has dropped to 7.9 from 11.8 per cent in 2021. We have now appointed an independent review of how RPS members, elected members and stakeholders can feel more engaged and empowered to influence RPS decisions, and eagerly await its recommendations." The Society appointed communications agency Luther Pendragon to lead a review into how it can develop and strengthen member participation.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has urged people across Scotland to be kind to their pharmacy teams this winter through its campaign called 'Be Kind'. The pharmacies are facing lot of pressure and challenges during winter, RPS has heard from its members that abuse towards pharmacy teams, particularly those in community pharmacy, has 'unfortunately' risen. The campaign has been running throughout December, to promote 'be kind' message to the public at a time when pharmacy services are particularly stretched by winter pressures and other factors, including the recent shortages of antibiotics. "Throughout December, leading figures have provided a series of powerful videos, which all encourage the public to be kind to their pharmacy teams. The campaign has highlighted personal video messages from many figures including Jason Leitch, Scotland's National Clinical Director, Maree Todd, Minister for Public Health, Women's Health and Sport, and Andrew Carruthers, RPS Scottish Pharmacy Board Chair," said RPS.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Director for Scotland Clare Morrison participated in the panel discussion alongside representatives from other health professional organisations on tackling the workforce crisis at the SNP conference in Aberdeen on 8 October. At the conference, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care committed to achieving protected learning time for health professionals. Morrison welcomed the Cabinet Secretary's statement as fantastic news for pharmacists across Scotland. "RPS Scotland will follow up the discussion by writing to the Cabinet Secretary to request a meeting to discuss achieving protected learning time, the forthcoming results of our workforce wellbeing survey, and positive examples of how pharmacy teams have improved the well-being of their teams," said the society.

Catriona Sinclair, a community pharmacist in the Highlands with over thirty years' experience, has been elected vice-chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS)'s Scottish Pharmacy Board. As the incoming vice-chair, she will sit on the RPS's assembly which is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the Society. Audrey Thompson, lead pharmacist for Prescribing in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, with over twenty-five years' experience in primary care, was elected to RPS Assembly. The newly formed board has three new faces - Josh Miller, Richard Shearer and Jill Swan. In addition, the Board co-opted Kelsey Drummond to a newly created early career pharmacist place. There are also three departing board members: Dr Brian Addison, Kathleen Cowle and John McAnaw.

A leading pharmacist and member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Scottish Pharmacy Board has been chosen to share her experiences of working in a community pharmacy in Scotland. Catriona Sinclair FRPharmS will speak at a roundtable entitled 'International Experiences in Professional Pharmaceutical Health Services' in Madrid on Thursday (May 5). Catriona, who owns and runs a pharmacy in the Highlands, is expected to give her take on community pharmacies' significant contribution towards achieving improved health outcomes and reducing health inequalities for local populations in Scotland. As an active independent prescriber, she is at the cutting edge of the profession in Scotland. Speaking ahead of her visit to Madrid, Catriona said: "I'm honoured to have the opportunity to collaborate with pharmacists from across Europe, and to share my experiences of working as a community pharmacist in Scotland.