Melissa Fife has joined community pharmacy trade body Pharmacy Voice as its first director of communications.
Fife joins from London-based Forster Communications, where she served as senior consultant and led the agency’s corporate communications team.
In her new role she will oversee the communications strategy for Pharmacy Voice, a body formed by the three largest community pharmacy owner associations to create a unified voice for their members.
The founding members of Pharmacy Voice are the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMP), the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) and the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).
Fife joins at an important time for community pharmacy in the UK, with the sector expected to play a key role in improving medicines optimisation due to the availability of pharmacies to patients.
“There is a huge opportunity to communicate greater understanding of the role that community pharmacy can play in delivering primary care, helping the NHS move forward positively, during a time of inevitable change,” she said.
“Community pharmacists are a vital part of the primary healthcare community, but to fully utilise this resource we must ensure that pharmacy teams, the public and policy makers are fully engaged in future discussions surrounding the sector.”