The Pharmacists’ Defence Association’s (PDA) director of pharmacy has stepped down ‘to recharge’ after two years with the pharmacy union.
Jay Badenhorst said in a LinkedIn post that he would be taking a short, intentional break from the ‘relentless pace’ of the sector after years spent ‘pushing for real change in our profession’.
However, he stressed that this was not burnout but a deliberate pause to recharge, spend time with his family, and let new ideas resurface before his next chapter begins.
Related Article: Payment percentage for statutory branded medicines scheme drops to 16.5%
He said: ‘I’m energised about what’s ahead: a new professional journey that builds on what I’ve learned and enables me to keep making an impact in strategic healthcare leadership, and beyond. The details are coming together, and the possibilities already feel exciting.’
Mr Badenhorst moved to UK from South Africa in 2001 and he also reflected on his 25 years in the country.
‘I stepped off the plane in the UK after flying from South Africa – a young pharmacist with a degree from the University of Potchefstroom and a suitcase full of hope,’ he said.
‘What followed was 20+ years of growth: hands-on community pharmacy management, research on early cancer detection and mood interventions in community pharmacies.’
Related Article: Research review: a look at the latest clinical papers
Mr Badenhorst served on the Board of Management of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) for six years, most recently as Vice Chair, before joining the PDA. During this time, he was also appointed as a non-executive director on the board of the NPA insurance business.
For three consecutive terms, he was the chair of Community Pharmacy Tees Valley and is designated a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS).
Mark Koziol, chairman of the PDA said: ‘The PDA continues to grow and deliver even more for pharmacists, and Jay has played an important role within our team since 2024.
Related Article: MenB vaccination programme to be rolled out in pharmacies
‘We respect Jay’s decision to take a break for personal reasons at this time, and we wish him well in the future.
‘We will be making an announcement about our further recruitment plans in due course.’
Have your say
Please add your comment in the box below. You can include links, but HTML is not permitted. Please note that comments are not moderated before publication and the views expressed are those of the user and do not reflect the views of The Pharmacist. Remember that submission of comments is governed by our Terms and Conditions. You can also read our full guidelines on article comments here – but please be aware that you are legally liable for any libellous or offensive comments that you make. If you have a complaint about a comment or are concerned that a comment breaches our terms and conditions, please use the ‘Report this comment’ function to alert our web team.