Ms Hannbeck joined the NPA as head of information services in 2010 and was promoted to head of pharmacy at the organisation in 2012, then director of pharmacy in 2015.

She became the NPA’s medicines safety officer in 2014, representing all community pharmacies with less than 50 branches. In this role she was responsible for producing quarterly patient safety incident reports, to encourage NPA members to report and share learnings on common errors in pharmacies.

Announcing her departure on Twitter today (July 26), Ms Hannbeck said the time had come to “move on to a new adventure”.

“I’ve been very lucky to have had the pleasure of working with my brilliant team and establishing great relationships and friendships with colleagues in the sector, which I value a lot,” she added.

An NPA spokesperson said: “Over the last 10 years, Leyla has led the pharmacy team in the provision of high quality professional and clinical advice and service to our members.

“We thank Leyla for her work on behalf of the members and wish her all the best for her future career.”

The NPA declined to comment on who will replace Ms Hannbeck.

Joining AIMp

Announcing her appointment as chief executive this afternoon, AIMp said it is “looking forward to working with [Ms Hannbeck] in the interests of our members during a challenging time for community pharmacy”.

The organisation also thanked outgoing chief executive, Colin Baldwin, “who has worked tirelessly on behalf of our members for the last 11 years”.