Liam Volk
Hospital pharmacist, President of the LGBT+ Network
Liam Volk (he/him) is the lead pharmacist for medicine and anticoagulation at North Devon District Hospital and he 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.”
Scott Rutherford
Trainee pharmacist, Immediate Past President of the LGBT+ Network
Scott Rutherford (he/they) is a trainee pharmacist and the Immediate Past President of the LGBT+ Network. Scott was the first President of the network since it launched in April 2020 as part of the PDA’s dedicated work to meet the growing and diverse membership demands and advance their work on equality. Scott is also a PDA Trainee Representative.
Scott said, “Although I’m not yet a registered pharmacist, I believe that the student and trainee voice should be represented within the network, in order to combat prejudice and discrimination against LGBT+ people, whether they are the public, our patients, or pharmacists. From experience and my own research, the issues that impact LGBT+ people are underexplored, misunderstood, and widely not cared about. Highlighting these issues, such as the state of transgender healthcare and the mental health of LGBT+ people in general, and working towards fixing them is incredibly important to me.”
Lauren Keatley-Hayes
Clinical pharmacist, co-opted member of the LGBT+ Committee
Lauren Keatley-Hayes (she/they), is a clinical pharmacist in the North West and a co-opted member of the LGBT+ Committee. Prior to working in primary care, Lauren gained experience in both community and hospital pharmacy. Lauren believes that the connections between sectors are not very robust and so she would like to change this through guidance and training with primary care teams.
Lauren said, “I’m looking to make real changes for the world of pharmacy in the UK: to get pharmacists recognised for their role and hopefully help to improve some guidance and practices in order to make a positive impact for the patient experience. I have an especially good knowledge of women’s health and have had many opportunities to broaden my skills. I have a particular interest in improving the care of trans and non-binary patients.”
Soh Xi Ken
Trainee pharmacist, co-opted member of the LGBT+ Committee
Soh Xi Ken (he/him) is a trainee pharmacist and a co-opted member of the LGBT+ Committee. Advocacy work is no stranger to Ken, who has been openly queer since the age of 17, even in his home country Malaysia, where homosexuality is outlawed. Although he is relatively inexperienced in the world of pharmacy, he believes that his passion for change and improvement are key qualities to making a difference. Ken is also a PDA Trainee Representative.
Ken said, “I hope we are able to increase much-needed representation, and visibility and create a safe space for not just LGBT+ pharmacists, pharmacy students, and trainees, but ultimately patients as well.”
Joshua Wells
Hospital pharmacist, PhD researcher, and a co-opted member of the LGBT+ Committee
Joshua is currently a PhD candidate at Kingston University investigating the validity of patient-reported outcome measures of medication adherence in chronic disease, particularly Type 2 Diabetes and COPD. He also works as a hospital pharmacist, with his main specialities being critical care, cardiology, and hepatology. In addition to this, Joshua also works as a Lead Medical Advisor for a queertech firm known as LVNDR Health, which focuses on improving LGBTQ+ sexual health.
Joshua said, “I want to better understand the lived experience of other LGBTQ+ members of the profession and work with a network to advocate for equality.”
Anjlee Shah
Community pharmacist and co-opted member of the PDA LGBT+ Committee
Anjlee is a community pharmacist and enjoys working in a public-facing role and engaging patients with the many services on offer, ensuring these are easily accessible to all. Anjlee is a co-opted member of the PDA LGBT+ Committee, and one of her main reasons for joining is that she wants pharmacies and pharmacy teams to be truly inclusive and respectful of all people. Anjlee wants pharmacies to be seen as a safe space for patients where they can be comfortable to be their true selves. Anjlee Shah is also part of the PDA’s NEC as the first Assistant General Secretary (Equality, Diversity & Inclusion).
Get Involved
- Follow the PDA LGBT+ Pharmacists’ Network on social media using the hashtag #PDAlgbt
- For more information about the PDA LGBT+ Network, click here.
- If you would like to get involved with the network and its activities, please email: [email protected].
JOIN THE PDA LGBT+ NETWORK TODAY
Pharmacists, pharmacy students, and trainee pharmacits can join the PDA now.