Angela Timoney, the director of pharmacy for NHS Lothian, has become the chairman of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) council, the first pharmacist to do so. She takes over from Professor John Kinsella of the School of Medicine at the University of Glasgow, who has held the post since 2014.

SIGN is part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland. It was set up in 1993 with the objective of improving the quality of health care in Scotland through the development and dissemination of national clinical guidelines containing recommendations for effective practice based on current evidence.

Professor Timoney also chaired the Scottish Medicines Consortium between 2011 and 2014, and again was the first pharmacist to do so. The SMC determines which medicines may be used by the NHS in Scotland.