PHARMACY New Health Minister
Robbie Butler MLA has taken on the role of Health Minister for Northern Ireland following the sudden resignation of Mike Nesbitt, who had been in the role since 2024.
Butler has said he wants a health service “people can access more quickly” and plans to spend time “seeing health and social care at the front line, not from behind a desk.”
A reset agenda will be the backdrop for any conversation on the community pharmacy contract, funding, or expansion of services like independent prescribing and minor ailments schemes. With no confirmed budget and a short window before attention turns to the election, community pharmacy bodies will be working hard to get in front of the new minister to make the case for a place in the reset agenda.
New appointments to PSNI
Three new council members have been appointed to the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland. They are Professor Brendan Gilmore, Amy Hilbert and Professor David Jones who will hold the roles until no later than the end of August 2030. Professor Gilmore is an adjunct professor at the University of Limerick School of Medicine and also deputy head of the School of Pharmacy at Queen’s University Belfast.
Mrs Hilbert is a hospital pharmacist, specialising in critical care and anaesthetic medicine. She currently serves as a lead pharmacist for the foundation training year at the Northern Ireland Centre for Pharmacy Learning and Development.
Professor Jones is professor of pharmaceutical and biomaterial engineering at Queen’s University Belfast. He was also awarded an MBE in the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours List.
More than 90% pass pharmacy exams
The Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) announced 93.75% of Northern Ireland candidates who sat the Common Registration Assessment (CRA) on 16 June 2026 successfully passed.
The Society said the result reflects the commitment, resilience and hard work shown by trainee pharmacists throughout their Foundation Training Year.
PSNI President Dr Geraldine O’Hare said: “I warmly congratulate everyone who has successfully passed the CRA. These results are a credit to your hard work, dedication and professionalism, and you should be very proud of this achievement. I look forward to welcoming successful candidates onto the Register of the Pharmaceutical Society NI.”
NEWS
In case you missed it on the Pharmacy In Focus website, here is a quick round up of what has been taking place within the Northern Ireland community pharmacy sector over the past couple of months and what’s coming up.
Newly qualified NI pharmacists urged to practise within prescribing competence
Newly qualified pharmacists in Northern Ireland have been urged to understand the boundaries of their prescribing competence as they enter the profession as the first cohort of pharmacists qualified to prescribe independently from day one on the register.
An open letter from Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, Cathy Harrison, welcomed the new pharmacists, the profession’s evolving role in delivering clinical services and supporting public health while highlighting the importance of safe, ethical and effective prescribing.
The letter emphasised that newly qualified pharmacists should agree the scope of their prescribing practice with their employer and work within the competence and experience gained through their core training.
It also highlighted the importance of recognising when prescribing requests fall outside their knowledge or experience, including those involving higher-risk medicines, complex conditions or situations where essential patient information may be unavailable.
Keep up to date with all the latest news at
pharmacyinfocus.co.uk
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