Our long-serving pharmacist Bob Tomlinson has been made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Pharmacists.

Bob, a Product and Formulations Pharmacist for the unit, was nominated for the accolade by a host of colleagues including our former clinical director of pharmacy Mike Culshaw.

Fellows are  rarely created and the title is awarded for their work to the profession and gain  the letters FPharm after their names.

Bob, who is 62, has been at our Trust for 35 years and has worked in all areas of pharmacy including dispensing in community, lecturing at Huddersfield University and developing new drugs at our HPS building.

He said: "  Obviously I feel very honoured and really pleased to have the recognition. These usually go to professors not  to a guy who has worked his time in the NHS in all areas."

He said his career had been a varied one and included acadaemia as well as day to day dispensing and now developing new drugs as one of the team at HPS.

He added: " These fellows are rarely awarded so it is nice to be recognised for what you have done for the profession. We are a great team here developing new drugs and medicines."

Has he celebrated the FPharms then? "I've had a few beers."

Bob's early career was in Newcastle before joining HRI in 1985. He was chair of the Huddersfield branch of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society from 2004-9.

He has been involved in the development and supply of new drugs for conditions including cardiac and transplant, (when there was a national shortage)  cataracts and dermatology.