When I last wrote a blog for members in January 2026, it was in my capacity as chair designate, to which the Assembly had appointed me to get ready for the transition to a royal college. Six months later, much has changed. I’m delighted to be writing again with some updates on the work of the Board of Trustees since we became official.

Before I do, I’d like to share a brief reflection. In April, shortly after our Privy Council approval, I was invited to attend the GPhC Council dinner — along with Karen Baxter, chief executive of the Royal College of Pharmacy — and to say a few words. This was the first time our organisation has been invited to do this and is indicative of the systemic importance of the royal college as a professional leadership body, and of its relationship with the regulator. It was a pleasure to attend and I was pleased to take the opportunity to acknowledge our century of common history, recognise the distinctive roles we play today, and reflect how we at the College look forward to continuing to work constructively together.

One memory that particularly stays with me from that evening is a remark made by a fellow attendee, who said he had never known pharmacy to be as vibrant and ‘buzzing’. As my board colleagues and I begin our work, it is increasingly clear that there is a sense of change and opportunity in the air — alongside some ongoing concerns — as pharmacy plays a bigger role in our healthcare system and as we at the College embark on our new chapter.

Pharmacy’s strong public connection

It is clear that the pressures on pharmacy teams are not just intense in the winter months, but year round. This summer’s hot weather has brought its own challenges, which makes it all the more impressive that the latest GP Patient Survey — commissioned by NHS England and published by Ipsos — revealed that 88.9% of patients who took part reported a good overall experience of pharmacy services. These figures show an annual increase in each of the past two years. This underlines the close relationship between pharmacy teams and the public, and the public’s high regard for pharmacy services.

Understanding the role of the Board of Trustees

These are still early days for the Royal College of Pharmacy and, just as our lay trustees have questions about the profession, it is understandable that members may still have questions about the role of the Board of Trustees in the new organisation. All charities must be governed by a trustee board, whose members carry individual and collective legal responsibilities. While the Senate, overseen by the president, leads on professional leadership issues, pharmacy practice and policy, the Board of Trustees provides strategic leadership, ensures governance, strategy and legal compliance, and holds the executive team to account for delivery.

Pharmacy-led leadership

These are significant responsibilities, so I am extremely pleased with the make-up of the board we have. The Royal College is pharmacy led, with a majority of trustees elected through the Senate — Tase Oputu, our president; alongside Mahendra Patel, Catriona Sinclair and Liz Hallett as chairs of the national advisory council chairs (and vice presidents) — to ensure there is representation from England, Scotland and Wales; and former president Claire Anderson.

Three appointed trustees — John Turner, Katie Mantell and Jacob Lant — bring expertise in charity finance, governance, communications, leadership, patient voice and the wider healthcare sector, ensuring we have the right balance of skills within the group. For my part, I bring ten years’ experience as a charity chief executive and 15 years as a charity trustee and chair. These are all voluntary roles; trustees are not remunerated and may only receive reasonable expenses (such as for travel to meetings).

Ultimately, the board is responsible for ensuring the College effectively serves its charitable mission and public benefit, so it’s important that we keep members up to date with developments in our work.

Becoming a registered charity across GB

To that end, I’m glad to report that, following the historic achievement of gaining Privy Council approval of the revised Royal Charter to become a royal college, our charity status has now been formally recognised by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The Scottish charity regulator, OSCR, is in the process of granting final approval.

Building strong foundations

Together with Karen Baxter, we have begun the work of modernising and developing the organisation. For example, we have agreed to broaden the scope of our Remunerations Committee to deal not just with staff pay but wider staff issues like welfare and development — recognising that the College team is vital to the success of the organisation. The College is making steady progress in developing its executive leadership team, with Louise Goldring established as director of education and now joined by Dr Justine Scanlan as director of pharmacy, while recruitment is in train for the new role of director of strategic communications and engagement. 

The Board has established a programme to review the organisation’s existing policies and approve the new policies now required. These include conflict of interest and code of conduct policies for all the royal college’s governance bodies. We also approved the new policy for use of the College’s historic Royal Seal.

We have established renewed subcommittees for Finance and Investment and for Audit and Risk. And we have made appointments to our knowledge business and subsidiary Pharmaceutical Press Ltd, which creates trusted, independent knowledge materials to support health professionals to make safe, confident decisions about medicines, such as the British National Formulary, Palliative Care Formulary and Stockley’s Drug Interactions.

Shaping the College’s future strategy

One of the board’s most important current tasks is to develop with the executive a transition strategy, and to lay the groundwork for a long-term strategy, on which we plan to consult in the coming year. We want to hear a wide range of views from members and stakeholders about our future path. I hope you will consider taking part.

So, while much has changed, there is still further change to come. As we work through these ongoing developments, one thing is immutable: we will remain focused on our mission to put pharmacy at the forefront of patient care and advance the safe and effective use of medicines, to the benefit of patients and the public.

Meeting expectations for the next chapter

To return to my earlier reflection, pharmacy is indeed ‘buzzing’ — and with that vibrancy comes real expectation of the new royal college. Building on the years of work, vision and commitment that brought us to this point, we now have a generational opportunity to strengthen our offer to members, deepen engagement, speak with greater confidence and influence, enhance our education and credentialing, and make the College the inclusive home for pharmacy professionals.

Change of this scale does not happen overnight, but the board will keep working to help meet those expectations, and I look forward to updating you as our work continues.

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