The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 272 No 7304 p785
19 June 2004

Society summary

Synergy award presented to chairman of Health Select Committee

The chairman of the House of Commons Health Select Committee, David Hinchliffe, MP, has been awarded the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Synergy award for 2004. The award is made annually at the discretion of the President to a person who is not a pharmacist but who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession.

Presenting the award at the June Council meeting, the President, Gill Hawksworth, said that Mr Hinchliffe, MP for Wakefield, had worked hard to understand pharmacy issues. As her local MP, his initiation had begun with a visit to her pharmacy. He had developed a close working relationship with the two local pharmaceutical committees in his constituency. The relationship had grown with his regular attendance at Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee dinners and much local liaison on pharmacy issues.

He was always receptive to concerns and issues. He had supported the profession nationally at crucial times and had been happy to explore the long-term consequences during her time as Vice-President and President.

His role in the Health Select Committee’s response to the Office of Fair Trading inquiry into pharmacy was witness to his contribution to the profession. It was without doubt fitting that he was recognised for this commitment.

The President then presented Mr Hinchliffe with his award, a work commissioned from the sculptor James Reynolds, FRPharmS, a former editor of Martindale.

Mr Hinchliffe thanked the President and Council for the privilege and honour. He said that Dr Hawksworth had worked hard to enable politicians to develop an awareness of the immense potential of the work pharmacists did. Until she worked on him, he had not been aware of how much pharmacists did and how much more they could do. Spending time in her pharmacy and others in his constituency, he had seen that pharmacists were an immensely underused facility. For example, his committee’s recent report on obesity pointed out that, bearing in mind the work they already did on diabetes, community pharmacists had an immense potential to assist with the problem of obesity. He hoped the Government would look seriously at what they were saying.