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Ian Strachan, newly elected chairman of the National Pharmacy Association, has vowed to pursue a member-focused agenda and help develop innovation within the independent sector.

"My board gave me a very clear agenda to focus our energies on serving the interests and needs of our members,€ said Mr Strachan, who owns four pharmacies in the North-West. €Our aim will be to present the case for independent community pharmacy to government, the NHS and others who shape the conditions in which our sector operates.€ Increasing pressure on the independent sector has forced pharmacists to be innovative and resourceful, Mr Strachan told ICP. €I want to focus our energies on really developing the innovation and that service element so that we can give them the best offering we can. It's a very clear remit, but it's one that I'm absolutely up for.€

At the coalface
Mr Strachan still works five or six days a week in his pharmacies. €I've always been at the coalface and put the hours in. I'm very much in tune with what members want and what makes them tick and their frustrations. I'm also aware of their qualities and strengths.€

Mr Strachan praised the NPA's not-for-profit status and its empathy and shared understanding with members. €It's got good bones. If you kick a member the NPA limps with them. It understands their frustrations and their values.€

Last year's move to solely independent representation has made the NPA stronger, said Mr Strachan. €That gives us a clarity of purpose and message and dismisses some of the ambiguity and the knockers. We've come through it in pretty good shape.€

Nitin Sodha, who was first elected to the NPA Board in 2007 and represents members in the West Midlands, is the new vice chairman. And Michael Guerin, who joined the Board in 2005 and represents members in Northern Ireland, continues as treasurer.