Former Department of Health director general and NHS regional head John Bacon has been named as the Company Chemists’ Association’s new chair, taking over from interim chair Margaret MacRury.

Mr Bacon comes to the trade body for pharmacy multiples having worked in the NHS for over 30 years. His DH role saw him taking care of day-to-day management of the NHS in England and overseeing finance, capital investment, staff and private sector relations. More recently he has chaired NHS Trusts including the financially troubled Barts Health in East London, where he served from August 2015 until October 2016. He is currently a chair at Community Health Partnerships, a Government-owned company.

Mr Bacon said: “I am delighted to be joining the CCA at this new stage of its development, and thank Margaret for her work in leading the CCA board through a period of transition.

"With a new strategy and team in place, I look forward to working with the CCA team to help it deliver its vision that everyone, everywhere, should benefit from world-class healthcare and wellbeing services provided by their community pharmacy.”