• Ciara Hallows, a Pharmacy Technician at Aston Pharmacy School, has been made a Fellow of the College of Mental Health Pharmacy (CMHP)
• Fellowships recognise outstanding contributions in mental health pharmacy
• It is the first time CMHP has bestowed the honour, usually for qualified pharmacists, on a Pharmacy Technician.

Ciara Hallows, a Pharmacy Technician at Aston Pharmacy School, has been made a Fellow of the College of Mental Health Pharmacy (CMHP).

This is the first time that CMHP has bestowed a Fellowship on a Pharmacy Technician. Ciara has worked in mental health pharmacy for almost 20 years, including as a Pharmacy Technician team and dispensary manager at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and now as a teaching associate at Aston University.

As registered professionals, Pharmacy Technicians support the safe and effective use of medicines. Ciara’s experience in clinical practice, leadership and service delivery underpins her current role as professional experiences co-ordinator with the Aston Pharmacy School,in which she oversees placement organisation and student development as well as being an integral member of the pharmacy teaching and assessment team.

CMHP Fellowships recognise leading pharmacy professionals in mental health who have made a significant and persistent contribution to the field of pharmacy in mental health, in clinical pharmacy, pharmacy management, education or research and development. All nominations must be submitted in confidence and are considered by a panel of three CMHP Council members, including the current president.

In her nomination, Ciara was praised for championing inclusive, high-quality care and for being a tireless advocate for Pharmacy Technicians. She regularly gives conference presentations and research dissemination workshops and founded and continues to lead the first national CMHP training and best-practice event for Pharmacy Technicians in mental health. She encourages mental health as a speciality.

At Aston University, Ciara leads on the design and management of placements for MPharm students, including placements with mental health trusts, which gives students vital experience as future prescribing professionals.

Ciara said:

“To become the first Pharmacy Technician to be awarded as a Fellow of the CMHP is an overwhelming honour. At a time of transformation in our professions, this is a proud moment for all of us working to challenge norms, collaborate for change and push pharmacy practice forward.”

Ciara was proposed as a Fellow by Aston Pharmacy School senior teaching fellow Hannah Macfarlane, who is also a CMHP Fellow, and seconded by teaching fellow in psychiatric therapeutics Emma Bryant. Hannah said:

“Deciding to nominate Ciara for this award was easy due to her extensive and nationally relevant work supporting Pharmacy Technicians in mental health pharmacy. As I started to approach people she has worked with for their supporting statements, Ciara’s reach and impact was fed back to me in spades and the compelling nomination wrote itself! To see my colleague recognised in this way was a highlight of my year.”