English board spurns Council members for chairman
 At its inaugural meeting on 22 February, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's English Pharmacy Board elected Paul Bennett as chairman in preference to either of two elected board members who are also serving Council members.
In his candidate’s address to the board, Mr Bennett suggested that
it is not in the board’s best interests to have a chairman who
is also a serving member of Council. The chairman should be able to speak
on behalf of the board without any perception of a conflict of interest,
he said. And having a chairman who is not a Council member would give
the board an additional voice at Council meetings [which the chairman
is entitled to attend].
He added that, although he intended at some point to stand for election
to the Council himself, he would not put his name forward while serving
as board chairman.
The two Council members who were candidates in the election of a chairman
were Brian Curwain and Sid Dajani. In a first ballot Dr Curwain was eliminated
and a second ballot resulted in the election of Mr Bennett.
In the election of a vice-chairman, Beth Taylor was the only candidate
and was duly affirmed as vice-chairman.
Mr Bennett told the board that, as chairman, he would strive to harness
the passion and enthusiasm for pharmacy in England that board members
had already demonstrated. There was much to do if the board was
to help shape Council policy and provide professional advice to the Government.
A major priority was to identify the board’s objectives for the
first three years and agree the key deliverables against which its performance
would be measured. It needed some “quick wins” to demonstrate
to the electorate that it has a purpose and can effect change in policy
or practice that is tangible to those working in pharmacy in England.
Highly significant matters for the board to focus upon included a role
for pharmacies in practice-based commissioning, the championing of pharmacists
with special interests and an involvement in the Pharmacy 2020 programme.
A further report from the board’s inaugural meeting will appear
next week.
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