Boots has introduced a new role that will allow pharmacists to use their clinical knowledge to design and deliver new innovative services.

The first round of candidates have been selected to become a specialist practitioner at the pharmacy chain, a role Boots said will “combine the highest level of clinical competence with a drive to innovate at pharmacy level.”

All pharmacists working for Boots can apply for the role and will be considered if they have been qualified for a minimum of 18 months, are an independent prescriber and have experience of “the workings of both internal and external pharmacy.”

Boots said applications will be assessed by a newly created specialist practitioner review panel.

The first round of candidates include Jan Jones, manager of Boots’ independent medical agency, Chrishna Goyal, manager at Boots in Largs, Leigh Riddell, manager at Boots in Castle Douglas, Valerie Sefton, clinical lead pharmacist in the community pharmacy anti-coagulation management service (CPAMS) in Brighton and Hove, Patricia Armstrong, pharmacist assistant professional services manager at the Chief Pharmacist’s Office and Susan Wintle, anti-coagulation service manager at CPAMS in Brighton and Hove.

Marc Donovan, chief pharmacist at Boots UK, said: “As the landscape of pharmacy changes, the role of the pharmacist is evolving to respond to the additional opportunities to further impact patients’ lives, and as an organisation, we want to ensure we attract and retain the very best pharmacist colleagues.

“As part of our overall career progression strategy, we want to ensure we have clear clinical career pathways and support available to all our pharmacists.

“To achieve this we have launched a new role: specialist pharmacist practitioner. This role recognises pharmacists who are delivering enhanced clinical care in their communities and offers a way for our experienced pharmacists to further their career at Boots.

“Specialist practitioners will lead by applying expert clinical and professional knowledge in the design and delivery of innovative services and care in pharmacy, to continuously improve the support we offer for the health and wellbeing needs of patients.”