Sector charity Pharmacist Support has announced the appointment of five new trustees to its board.

The new board members - David Downham, Karen Harrowing, Mohammed Hussain, Mala Khiroya, and Alison Scowcroft – will all begin a three-year term in 2022, with their start dates staggered over the year.

They join existing board members Anita Cawley, Catherine Harper, Paul Johnson, Steve Lutener, Esther Sadler-Williams, Mark Sweeney and Sarah Willis.

The new appointees bring a wide range of experience, ranging from community pharmacy to hospitals, NHS trust directorships, industry roles and national healthcare oversight boards.

Chief executive Danielle Hunt said: “Since the launch of the charity’s new strategy in January 2020, the profession has been faced with many new challenges.

“We are really proud of the work we have done in the last few years to address some of these challenges, that have led to a number of new developments for the charity, including the launch of our new counselling offer and Wellbeing Learning Platform, the expansion of our ACTNow wellbeing campaign and development of our new website.

“However, we still have lots of work to do, especially with the continued high levels of stress and potential burnout present within pharmacy.

“We are really pleased that the five new trustees bring with them a plethora of experience and skills that will further support us in the next phase of our journey.”

The charity also announced that board member Esther Sadler-Williams has been appointed chair, replacing Steve Lutener. Anita Cawley is to stay on as vice-chair.

Ms Sadler Williams said: “Despite the challenges thrown at us, I have seen the charity go from strength to strength over the past few years.

“Steve has played a big part in this transition and on behalf of the Board and staff I would like to thank him for his calm and positive approach and his dedication to our beneficiaries, staff and fellow trustees during this time.

“I look forward to welcoming our new trustees into the fold and working with them to ensure we continue to champion the wellbeing of our pharmacy family and deliver on our 5 year strategy.”