INTRODUCING THE NEWLY ELECTED President of the PDA LGBT+ Network
Liam Volk
President of the LGBT+ Network
Congratulations to Liam, lead pharmacist for medicine and anticoagulation at North Devon District Hospital, who has been pushing for greater LGBT+ inclusion in his workplace. When Liam was on secondment as an Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (EPMA) configuration analyst, he successfully implemented a coding change that ensured patient labels were representative of a patient’s gender identity, as opposed to the gender marker associated with their NHS number. Liam also has experience as a pharmacist in both community and hospital settings in England and Wales.
Liam said, “As the next President of the PDA LGBT+ Network, I’m seeking to continue the excellent work done by the previous committee and the membership at large. With it being a difficult time in this country for LGBT+ people, the pharmacy profession, and the health service in general, I believe it’s important to be a strong representative for LGBT+ pharmacists and our patients. I’m passionate in advocating for better healthcare for the LGBT+ community, including gender affirming care, inclusive sexual health services, and equal access to fertility treatment.”
As President, Liam will work alongside the Immediate Past President, Scott Rutherford (he/they), and co-opted members former Vice-President Lauren Keatley-Hayes (she/they), previous Honorary Secretary Soh Xi Ken (he/him), Josh Wells (he/him), and Anjlee Shah (she/her).
Scott said, “It has been an absolute honour and pleasure to have been the network’s President over the past 2 years. The success of our work on inclusive education, and the recent publication of our position statement on gender-affirming care are my personal highlights which would not have been possible without Lauren, Ken, Josh, and Anjlee, so I would like to thank them for all their hard work. I would like to welcome Liam to his new role and offer to support the incoming committee as the Immediate Past President and continue our work towards a more inclusive profession.”
Other activities of the network include attending Manchester Pride for the first time in 2022, developing pronoun badges, creating opportunities for members to network, and representing the PDA at stakeholder events.
The PDA would like to thank the previous committee for their time, hard work, and commitment to the PDA LGBT+ Network as well as their care for LGBT+ members and the wider PDA membership. The PDA is delighted that they will be working alongside the incoming committee.
Call for nominations extended
The committee is still looking for members to fill the roles of Vice-President and Honorary Secretary. Existing members of the committee will offer their full support to those seeking new opportunities to get involved.
The nominations period has been extended for these two positions. Please see below for further details of the roles.
Vice-President
The duties and responsibilities of the Vice-President shall be as follows:
- Support the work of the President
- Deputise for the President where necessary
- Keep up to date with issues of interest to LGBT+ pharmacists.
Honorary Secretary
The duties and responsibilities of the Honorary Secretary shall be as follows:
- Ensure meetings are effectively organised and minuted
- Share a copy of the agenda and minutes with the PDA’s Organising Assistant within two weeks after a meeting has taken place
- Liaise with appropriate members of PDA staff to ensure the effective administration of the network
- Keep up to date with issues of interest to LGBT+ pharmacists.
The committee will work together following the guidance set out within the PDA’s Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Networks remit to deliver a programme of activity to help engage members and grow the network and its influence.
How to nominate
Those wishing to nominate themselves must be members of the PDA LGBT+ Network in order to be considered for election. PDA LGBT+ Network members may apply for more than one role, but can only be successful in one.
Individuals cannot be elected officer of more than one PDA EDI Network within the PDA simultaneously. It is recommended that officers are not also Regional Committee or NEC members so that they may devote adequate time to these substantial roles.
Members interested in standing for any of the above positions should email the following information to lgbt@the-pda.org by 5 pm on Friday 16 June 2023:
- First and second name
- Year commenced practice
- Qualifications
- Previous/current positions held that they feel are relevant to the role (role title, employer, organisation, university, and the year started/ended)
- Supporting statement explaining which position(s) they are nominating themselves for and why (up to 250 words)
- A headshot photo for use in the election process and on the PDA’s website.
The PDA looks forward to receiving further nominations!
Get involved
- Join the PDA LGBT+ Network here.
- Those who would like to get involved with the network and its activities, please email lgbt@the-pda.org
- Follow the PDA LGBT+ Network on social media using the hashtag #PDAlgbt.
Learn more
- For more information about the PDA LGBT+ Network, click here.
- Scott Rutherford elected as the first President of the PDA LGBT+ Network (3/6/21)
- Meet the PDA LGBT+ Network Committee
- PDA Equalities Council
- PDA EDI Networks
- PDA Regional Committees
- PDA Organisational Structure
- PDA LGBT+ Network has a presence at Manchester Pride for the first time (21/9/22)
- PDA LGBT+ Network launch pronoun badges and flyers (11/8/21)
Not yet a PDA member?
If you have not yet joined the PDA, we encourage you to join today and ask your colleagues to do the same.
Membership is FREE to pharmacy students, trainee pharmacists, and for the first three months of being newly qualified.
Read about our key member benefits here.