Independent community pharmacist Thorrun Govind has become the youngest ever member to be elected to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's English Pharmacy Board.

Govind, 25, who works at Sykes Chemist in Bolton, secured 710 votes and told Independent Community Pharmacist she was shocked by the result. "I was up against some very strong contenders," she said. 

She is now looking forward to "bridging the gap" between younger members and the Society. "I want to bring that point of view," she said. "It's very difficult when you first start out, pretty isolating and I want to make sure that the individual's voice is heard."

With voting turnout up slightly on last year at 11.12% (10.86%), Claire Anderson (768 votes), Sultan Dajani (782 votes) and Hemant Patel (684 votes) were also elected to the English Pharmacy Board, while Aamer Safdar (660 votes) has been elected to fill the casual vacancy place and will serve a term of one year.

The successful candidates in the Welsh Pharmacy Board election are Mike Curson, Jodie Gwenter, Dylan Lloyd Jones and Cheryl Way.