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"I hope one day there will be a network of Nepali Pharmacists who can share their experiences and provide support to each other," shares Sobha Sharma Kandel, Co-Founder, CEO, and Superintendent Pharmacist of Neem Tree Health. As a daughter of Nepali Immigrants who came to the UK in the early 70's, Sobha grew up witnessing first-hand the struggle her parents went through navigating the complexities of healthcare in this country. Today as a renowned pharmacist with a profound impact on her community, her contributions reflect her deep understanding of "the challenges and barriers that the South Asian community can face". Sobha's early experiences with frequent pharmacy visits due to tonsillitis also triggered a deep fascination with medicines and their impact on improving lives. "I visited pharmacies often to buy over the counter medication and to collect my prescription for antibiotics. This triggered my fascination with medicines. "I considered Pharmacy as a career in sixth form, after I had an interesting work experience in the Pharmacy department at Hammersmith Hospital," she recalls.

Women accounted for 62 per cent of GPhC registrants in 2019, according to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Despite representing the majority of pharmacists in the UK, only 2 per cent of women are pharmacy business owners compared with 13 per cent of men. Also, the majority of senior pharmacy leadership positions are held by men, with research showing that only 36 per cent of senior pharmacy leaders are women. Sobha Sharma Kandel, superintendent pharmacist and co-owner of Neem Tree Pharmacy, Abbey Wood, London, quoted these statistics while shedding light on the representation of female leaders in the field of pharmacy. So, what is stopping women from reaching leadership positions in the profession? According to Sobha, the barriers hindering female pharmacists from attaining leadership positions include: Gender Bias and Stereotypes Lack of Representation and Role Models Glass Ceiling and Double Standards Work-Life Balance Challenges Imposter Syndrome Unequal Access to Opportunities Negotiation and Advocacy Challenges "There also continue to be gender and ethnicity pay gaps affecting women in pharmacy," said Sobha, who has been advocating for women in pharmacy by being a part of the Female Pharmacy Leaders Network.

Sobha Sharma Kandel wants community pharmacy teams up and down the country to be super responsive to emerging needs of their patients - by always being pro-active rather than reactive. "We know that every patient benefits from our proactive approaches - listening, asking questions, providing information and making clinical interventions when appropriate. "At a time when general practice is overstretched, community pharmacy must be relied upon as the frontline of the NHS when it comes to providing diagnosis, treatment and continuous care in our communities to promote health and wellbeing of our patients." Sobha believes Covid-19 has helped shift public perception of community pharmacies from being a place where one goes to collect a prescription to a hub where one can access a range of healthcare advice and services. "We are way more than just a shop where you can collect your medicines," she said, giving examples of how her interventions have helped reduce medication errors, prevent harm and subsequently reduce cost of care. She once saved a baby from getting overdosed with omeprazole when they had issues with gastroesophageal reflux. On another occasion, she managed a lady's high blood pressure by finding equivalent medications to a combination dose prescribed by her doctor in another country.