Community Pharmacy England appoints Professor Dame Jenny Harries as new Chair

Professor Dame Jenny Harries DBE DL, former Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, has been appointed as non-executive Chair of the Community Pharmacy England Committee.

Professor Harries brings a wealth of expertise from working in public health across all levels of Government. Through previous roles as Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, and the founding Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, she has worked at a senior level internationally, nationally and locally in the service of the nation’s health.

The Chair role at Community Pharmacy England – which Professor Harries takes up today (1st September 2025) – includes leadership of the Community Pharmacy England Committee, supporting strong governance and strategic delivery, and working closely with the Executive Team to enable effective engagement with business owners and wider stakeholders.

Professor Harries has wide experience of clinical and public health science and practice, as well as health service commissioning, and she has previously served on the UK’s Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). For many years she worked directly with communities through local government and the NHS, including as a Director of Public Health.

Today Professor Harries also takes up an Honorary Professorship of Health Security in the School of Pharmacy at Nottingham University.

Professor Harries replaces outgoing Chair Sue Killen who completed her term of office at Community Pharmacy England at the end of August.

Professor Dame Jenny Harries said:

“I am really excited to be working so closely with community pharmacy. Pharmacies were critical stakeholders during my time in local public health teams; and they are uniquely placed to provide care and support to those in the most deprived communities and with the most health need. We saw clearly just how critical the hard work of pharmacy owners and their teams was to achieving our national healthcare goals through the COVID-19 pandemic. The huge potential for a supported and sustainable community pharmacy sector to play a key role in the delivery of national prevention and public health initiatives is being recognised as never before. I am keen to help nurture the sector, the professionals within it and the undoubted opportunities for improvements in health.”

Outgoing Chair Sue Killen said:

“Community pharmacy has come such a long way in the six years since I took up the role at what was then called PSNC: battling through the difficulties of a global pandemic, beginning to carve out a more clinically-focussed future, and transforming pharmacy representation to better align with the sector’s current needs. It has been a pleasure to support such a vibrant sector through an important time, and while significant challenges remain, I hope to see community pharmacy continue to realise its potential in the coming years.”

Janet Morrison, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy England, said:

“I am delighted to welcome Professor Harries to Community Pharmacy England and am looking forward to working closely with her. She will be an excellent addition to the Committee, bringing her extensive knowledge and experience to bear in our goal of securing a sustainable future for community pharmacy in challenging times. Jenny will undoubtedly prove a key asset as we champion the value of the sector, its huge clinical potential and the vital role it plays for patients and communities.

I would also like to thank Sue Killen for all of her hard work and commitment to community pharmacy over the past six years, helping to steer the Committee through a significant period of change, both challenging and enhancing.”

Adrian Price, Vice-Chair of Community Pharmacy England, and Chair of the Appointment Panel, said:

“Professor Harries shares our passion for preventive healthcare and her resume was crammed full of pivotal roles in healthcare policy stretching across all levels of government. Many of these gave her experience of working directly with community pharmacy, so she already had a keen sense of our wants and needs both now and in the coming years. I know that Jenny will be an excellent addition to the Committee and champion for the sector.”