The Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Scotland has appointed Clare Morrison as its new director.

Ms Morrison is currently national lead for Near Me - an NHS video consultation service - at the Scottish Government. She had a diverse career before working for the Government, having worked in community pharmacy, GP practice pharmacy, NHS board pharmacy and pharmacy journalism.

The new director was awarded an MBE for services to healthcare in 2018.

As part of her remit as RPS Scotland director, Ms Morrison will be responsible for national policy development, professional advocacy and member engagement across Scotland, in partnership with the Scottish Pharmacy Board.

Ms Morrison, who will be taking over from Alex MacKinnon following his recent retirement, will also work with the Board and its members to ‘drive forward leadership for the pharmacy profession in Scotland’.

Commenting on her new appointment, Ms Morrison said: ‘Every profession needs a strong professional body, so it is a huge honour to be appointed to this role and to be part of achieving the RPS mission of putting pharmacy at the forefront of healthcare.

‘I am really looking forward to being part of RPS, working with other professional and patient organisations, and most importantly, with every pharmacy team across Scotland to realise the opportunities the future holds.’

She added: ‘I believe now, more than ever, that pharmacy has an exciting future.’

Paul Bennett, RPS chief executive, added: ‘Clare brings extensive experience of working in partnership with a wide variety of organisations across different sectors of pharmacy and the NHS in Scotland.

‘She has worked at both national and international level and I’m delighted she’s joining us to ensure we are in a strong position to deliver on behalf of members, the profession and patients.’