Gisela Abbam, Chair of the GPhC, said: “I am delighted to welcome Kathie as the GPhC’s new Chief Executive and Registrar. Kathie will join the GPhC at a pivotal time, as we take forward the delivery of our new strategic plan 2025-30. Kathie’s leadership will be instrumental in achieving our strategic aims of empowering pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to provide trusted, safe and effective pharmacy care, protecting patients and the public by working collaboratively with healthcare regulators and other stakeholders, and building a skilled, agile and inclusive organisation.
“Kathie brings more than 20 years of senior leadership experience in regulation, governance and public protection, which will be invaluable at a time when there are significant opportunities but also significant challenges facing the pharmacy sector. The Council and I look forward to working closely together to achieve our ambitions and to shape a future where pharmacy services continue to inspire confidence, protect the public, and advance healthcare for all.”
Kathie’s work at the IOPC has been focused on improving public and officer confidence in police accountability arrangements; working with Government and stakeholders to agree significant reforms to the police complaints and conduct system. She has led work to implement a more accessible complaints system, promoting reasonable and proportionate responses when things go wrong and a greater focus on learning and service improvement. She has been responsible for increasing awareness and effectiveness of the complaints and conduct system across England and Wales and driving evidence-based changes to police training, policy and practice.Kathie began her career as a nurse and previously worked for the Healthcare Commission where she led work to redesign the processes for handling NHS complaints. She introduced more efficient ways of working, and the development of consistent reporting of performance and learning across the system.
