Janet Morrison is to replace Simon Dukes as PSNC chief executive at the beginning of next month, the negotiator announced earlier today.

As with her predecessor, who left the PSNC in the autumn, Ms Morrison does not have a background in community pharmacy. 

She has extensive experience of the charity sector and headed up Independent Age for 12 years, an organisation offering support for older people dealing with loneliness, poverty and poor access to healthcare. 

Her work with the charity Campaign to End Loneliness which she co-founded saw her receive an OBE in 2019.

She also worked at the BBC and was deputy chief executive at the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts and has chaired the Baring Foundation and the Association of Charitable Foundations.

A full in-tray awaits Ms Morrison when she takes up the role, with contractors in England battling rising costs and the Government rebuffing the sector’s urgent calls for an uplift to the contractual global sum to help prevent further closures. 

Other pressing issues include proposals to shake up pharmacy representation and the way LPCs and the PSNC work, as well as the challenges posed by the introduction of integrated care systems (ICSs). 

PSNC chair Sue Killen said Ms Morrison “was an exceptional candidate” and revealed its appointments panel voted unanimously for her.

“The interview process combined with Janet’s impressive career history showed us that she has both a clear view of the job to be done, and the skills to influence and lead effectively on behalf of community pharmacy,” Ms Killen said.

“She joins at a challenging time for community pharmacies, and I know all in the sector will welcome her to the role and support her in it.”

Ms Morrison said: “Community pharmacies offer so much to the nation and play a vital role at the heart of their communities as so many of us have found out throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“This work cannot have been easy for pharmacy contractors and their teams, nor those who support them, and I hope to learn more about their experiences very soon.

“I am looking forward to representing this vibrant and important sector to policy makers, as well as working to build wider recognition of, and better support for, community pharmacies. 

“I know that PSNC has a lot of difficult work ahead of it, including some possible changes to the way that it works on behalf of pharmacies, and I am excited about taking up these challenges.”