Charter medals for Kay Roberts and Allen Tweedie
Chris Elmes/IT/RPSGB
The President with Mr Tweedie and Mrs Roberts |
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Charter gold medal for 2006 has been presented to Kay Roberts, a drug misuse expert from Glasgow who has served on many Society committees and drugs misuse bodies. The silver medal has gone to Allen Tweedie, from Newcastle upon Tyne, who has given many years' service to pharmacy in the north-east of England and is a pioneer of medicines management.
Making the presentations at a ceremony before the Society’s annual
general meeting on 24 May, the President, Hemant Patel, said that the
medals, instituted in 1963, are awarded by the Council on the recommendation
of the President. The gold medal recognises outstanding services rendered
by a member to the Society or generally in promoting the interests of
pharmacy. The silver medal recognises similar outstanding services rendered
by a member locally or to a specific sector of the profession.
Gold medal
Presenting the gold medal, the President said that Diana Kay Roberts
had started her career in hospital pharmacy followed by a period in
community practice, before becoming deputy chief pharmaceutical adviser
to the Welsh office in 1990 and acting chief pharmaceutical adviser
in 1995.
In 1996 she moved to Scotland as area pharmacy specialist in drug misuse
at Greater Glasgow Primary Care NHS Trust. From 2003 until 2005, she
was a co-ordinator of the Greater Glasgow pharmacy needle exchange scheme.
In 2003 she became independent consultant pharmacist on drug misuse,
lead pharmacist for the substance misuse certificate at Royal College
of General Practitioners, and a locum community pharmacist.
Since 2005 she has been a tutor for the certificate of substance misuse
of the RCGP Scotland and in 2006 she became a member of the Glasgow children’s
panel, which considers cases under Scotland’s system of juvenile
justice centred on the welfare of the child.
Mrs Roberts is a past secretary and chairman of the Society’s Harrow
and Hillingdon branch and has served on the Society’s Panel of
Fellows, its working group on HIV AIDS, its working group on drug misuse,
its substance misuse working group and its Shipman working group. She
has been the Society’s consultant adviser on substance misuse issues.
She has also been active in a wide range of other bodies nationally and
in Greater Glasgow.
The President said that, throughout her professional working life, Mrs
Roberts has striven to achieve excellence in all that she has done. Her
achievements are recognised internationally, not least through her high
degree of involvement with harm reduction at an international level.
She was a member of the executive programme committee for the International
Harm Reduction Conference, in Belfast in 2005 and in Vancouver earlier
this year. Her recognition has extended beyond the profession through
her work with other agencies, including doctors, the police, drug agencies,
local authorities and patient groups.
“Kay has had significant influence in the development of policies with
regard to the treatment and care of drug misusers,” said the President, “and
many of these vulnerable patients and their families have benefited from
her determined efforts. From a Glasgow perspective she has been active
in promoting and advancing the important role that community pharmacists
play in providing key services to those whose lives been blighted by
addiction, often the most disadvantaged living in the city’s most
deprived areas.
“She has participated in many definitive research studies which have
helped to shape practice and attract the necessary resources required to
take
this forward. Not without challenge has she successfully championed the
pharmacist’s role in this area. A dedicated team of three pharmacists
are now involved in taking the way forward and showing that her legacy
will continue to flourish in the years ahead.”
Mrs Roberts, in reply, said that the medal was an honour for which she
thanked the President and the Council very much indeed. Throughout her
career she had been fortunate to receive inspiration, encouragement and
support from many others, without whom none of her achievements would
have been possible. Silver medal
Presenting the silver medal, the President said that Allen McCaskill
Tweedie has served on the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee
continually since 1980 and has been a member of Gateshead and South
Tyneside Local Pharmaceutical Committee for 30 years. He has served
on the Society’s Border Region committee since 1985. He was a
member of the Department of Health medicines management advisory committee
from 2001 to 2005. In 2005, he became a member of the professional
and executive committee of Gateshead Primary Care Trust and was elected
to the board of the Gateshead PCT in 2005.
From 1998 to 2005 Dr Tweedie chaired the Pharmaceutical Professional
Leadership Group — a joint working group with representation from
all major pharmaceutical bodies. As chairman of the group, in 1998 he
gave a presentation to the then Minister of State for Health, which resulted
in funding for a nationwide medicines management project — the
largest practice research project ever in community pharmacy. The project
was based on a partnership between pharmacy, medicine and the patient
to manage the therapeutic effectiveness and economics of treatment in
order to deliver better patient outcomes. The project proved to be a
milestone, not only for contractors and community pharmacies but also
for the research community. As one of the first multisite evaluations
involving community pharmacists, it marked a significant stage in the
development of the profession.
Dr Tweedie was made a fellow of the Society in 1999, and in 2004 was
awarded a PhD by the University of Portsmouth for a thesis of the transformation
of community pharmacy into a cognitive service provider.
“Allen, you have worked hard in the interests of community pharmacy,
and the profession has benefited tremendously from your efforts. It therefore
gives me great pleasure to ask you to come to the platform to receive
this Charter silver medal for 2006.”
In reply, Mr Tweedie said that he was greatly honoured by the award of
the medal, which in reality recognised the efforts of many. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal