The Department of Health has announced the reappointment of five Non-Executive Members and an extension to the term of appointment of a sixth Non-Executive Member to the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
Ms Alison Ragg, Non-Executive (Registrant) Member; Mr Mark McCrudden, Non-Executive (Registrant) Member; Mr Jonathan Patton, Non-Executive (Lay) Member and Vice President; Mr Barry Mimnagh, Non-Executive (Registrant) Member and Ms Chanel Jones, Non-Executive (Registrant) Member’s reappointments commenced on 1 March 2023 and will end on a date not later than 28 February 2027. Mrs Carol Moore, Non-Executive (Lay) Member’s extension to her term commenced on 1 March 2023 and will end on a date not later than 29 February 2024.
The PSNI Non-Executive Member are remunerated by an attendance fee. Attendance at meetings up to 4 hours duration attracts a fee of £118 and meetings over 4 hours £235. Training and induction days attract a fee of £118. The Non-Executive Member role carries a time commitment equivalent to 12-16 days per annum.
The procedure for these appointments is not bound by the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland, however, appointments are made in the ‘spirit of the Code’. The Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland was established by the Pharmacy and Poisons Act (Northern Ireland) 1925, and has been based at 73 University Street, Belfast since 1933. It is the regulatory and professional leadership body for pharmacists in Northern Ireland. Objectives of the Society include, amongst other matters, to advance chemistry and pharmacy and promote pharmaceutical education and the application of pharmaceutical knowledge, while safeguarding the interests of the members in the Society.
It maintains a register of over 2800 pharmacists, 140 pre-registration trainees and over 550 pharmacy premises across the country.
The Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland comprises of 14 Non-Executive Members (7 registered persons and 7 lay members).
Notes to editors:
- Ms Alison Ragg graduated from The University of Nottingham in 2002 and qualified as a pharmacist in 2003. She started her career in hospital pharmacy, and gained experienced working in hospitals in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Alison then moved into the clinical trial industry, where she spent 10 years working as a pharmacist and project manager, during which time she was involved in the conduct of clinical trials across a wide range of disease areas, including First in Human trials. Alison has a keen interest in education and training and worked with registrants as a Continuing Professional Development Facilitator with the Pharmacy Forum NI. Alison is an independent prescriber, focusing on the areas of diabetes and women’s health, and currently works as a General Practice Pharmacist.
- Mr Mark McCrudden graduated from Queens University Belfast in 2008 and qualified as a pharmacist in 2009. Having begun his career as a locum community pharmacist, Mark moved into the hospital pharmacy sector in 2010. He began his hospital career in Causeway Hospital working as a clinical pharmacist before moving to Antrim Area Hospital later that year. Throughout his career at Antrim Area Hospital, Mark has worked across various roles including both clinical pharmacy, as a pharmacy representative within GP practices, and in regional pharmaceutical procurement. Whilst undertaking his role in regional procurement, Mark served on the NICE PASLU committee from 2013 to 2016 as the representative for Northern Ireland. From July 2019 Mark has worked as the Clinical Service Manager for Emergency Medicine in the Northern HSC Trust and has practised as a registrant member on a locum basis.
- Mr Jonathan Patton has been re-appointed for a second term as Lay Member and Vice President of the Council of the PSNI and brings with him a breadth of knowledge and experience from the Private, Public and Charity Sectors. Since 2005, he has been running his own Management Consultancy business working primarily with Small Business and Charities on governance, strategic development, performance improvement and health and safety. Jonathan has worked with large multinational and local companies across several industry sectors in Belfast, Edinburgh and London at senior management and Director levels. He is Vice Chair of the Northern Ireland Confederation for Health and Social Care and Chair of Health and Social Care Chairs Group. Jonathan has extensive experience in the Regulatory Sector working on Fitness to Practice Committees with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council, the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, the Bar Council for Northern Ireland and the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. He currently sits as non-remunerated Chair of Community Rescue Service and as a non-remunerated Member on the NI Advisory Panel of Sense. Jonathan holds one other public appointment with Department of Health as Non-Executive Director and Acting Chair of the South-Eastern HSC Trust. This position attracts a remuneration of £32,579 per annum and has a time commitment of 3 days per week.
- Mr Barry Mimnagh has served in healthcare since 1996, serving first as a psychiatric nursing assistant, then as a pharmacist, qualifying in 2003 as a Master of Pharmacy. Since then Barry has practised extensively across the pharmaceutical spectrum serving in multiple hospital pharmacy departments, community pharmacies and GP practises. His current primary area of practice is as a GP pharmacist. Barry is also the Registrant Member of The Council of The Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) He also serves in diverse areas of pharmacy such as Regulation and Research Ethics, which for the latter he works in Research ethics with the Health and Social Care Research Ethics Committee A (HSC REC A) as; (i) Alternate Vice Chair, (ii) Expert Member, (iii) Lead Reviewer (Clinical Trials) and (iv) Expert Referee (for Adults Lacking Capacity). He has interests in education working with Northern Ireland’s Committee for Postgraduate Pharmaceutical Education and Training (NICPPET) as a post-graduate education and workforce adviser.
- Ms Chanel Jones graduated from Kingston University London in combination with St George’s Hospital University in 2015 and qualified as a pharmacist in 2016, where she worked as a community pharmacist for Boots and a number of other independent pharmacies. In 2018, she began her career as a clinical pharmacist in Antrim Area Hospital and then in the Ulster Hospital, where she currently works. Prior to working in hospital, Chanel worked as a clinical writer for both the Pharmacy in Focus and Scottish Pharmacist magazines. In 2022, she completed her postgraduate diploma in Advance Pharmacy Practice and is an Independent Prescriber. She has worked in a number of clinical specialities, including the COVID wards and in prison healthcare. She has a special interest in acute pain management and is involved with the South Eastern HSC Trust’s Acute Pain Team, creating resources for staff and patients to help understand pain management post-surgery.
- Mrs Carol Moore is a former Senior Civil Servant who served as Deputy Secretary in both the Department of Finance and the Department of Justice. She is currently a member of the Northern Ireland Audit Office Quality Assurance Review Team. This appointment was made by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) in August 2015.
- Appointments to PSNI are made with the approval of the Department of Health.
- All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the political activity of appointees to be published. The appointees have declared that they have not engaged in any political activity in the last five years.
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