The RPS announced last week that it has appointed Dr Justine Scanlan to the “key leadership role” of director of pharmacy.
Her appointment comes as the organisation aims to complete its transition to the Royal College of Pharmacy by “mid-April”, it said, noting that Scanlan will “take up her role in June”.
The director of pharmacy role was first announced as part of a number of leadership changes last August.
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According to the RPS, Scanlan will “lead on the new royal college’s ambitions to effectively champion pharmacy with policymakers, partners and stakeholders across Great Britain”.
She will work with National Pharmacy Advisory Councils and country directors and teams in Scotland, Wales and England to “drive forward pharmacy policy and practice”, it said.
And she will also “lead royal college activities across standards and guidance and science and research in pharmacy practice”, it added.
Pivotal
Scanlan currently works as the head of the NHS specialist pharmacy service and director of the pharmacy practice unit in Liverpool, the RPS said.
She is a hospital pharmacist “by background” and has “strong” experience in “service and quality improvement”and “patient safety”, it added.
The RPS also said that Scanlan is “the only pharmacist” to have been awarded a fellowship at the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, where she was part of the teaching faculty.
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Scanlan said that she is “looking forward” to joining the future Royal College of Pharmacy and ensuring the pharmaceutical care delivered to patients is of the “best quality”.
It is also important that “the safe use of medicines remains at the centre of everything” the RPS does, she added.
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RPS chief executive Paul Bennet said that he was “delighted” to welcome Scanlan to the role, saying that this is a “pivotal appointment for the organisation”.
Scanlan’s “expertise, leadership experience and energy will be a great addition to the organisation and executive team” and she will play a “central role in ensuring we deliver on our commitments and continue to champion the highest standards of patient safety and care”, he added.
