Professor Richard Parish is to leave his role as chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) and is "in discussions" over his position at the head of the government's pharmacy and public health forum.

Professor Parish plans to step down from the RSPH in June 2013 to "pursue other professional and business interests", after working for the organisation since its formation in 2008. Professor Parish said it had been a "great privilege" to lead the RSPH and said it would play an "evermore important role" in the UK, with "major developments" in the pipeline.

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	But the future of his leadership of the government's pharmacy and public health forum remained unclear, as an RSPH spokesperson told C+D that Professor Parish was "in discussions with key people". The pharmacy and public health forum was set up in July last year and Professor Parish was appointed as leader, tasked with expanding the role of community pharmacy in public health issues.

In February, Professor Parish told C+D the forum had made sure pharmacy was "very high on the agenda with various people at the Department of Health, including the most senior".

"We've been keen to ensure we've talked about community pharmacy in all the right quarters, including Downing Street," he said.

The RSPH said Professor Parish would release a statement on the future of his role in the forum over the coming week.