Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has appointed two observers to its committee to balance representation while it considers structural changes.

Has Modi, managing director of Jardines (UK), and Mayank Patel, director and superintendent pharmacist of Pearl Chemist Group, have been selected as non-Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) multiple observers.

The establishment of the two contributing observer places is an interim measure by CPE to ensure pharmacy owners with 10 or more pharmacies are well represented while more permanent changes to the committee’s structure are considered.

Jardines (UK) has 49 pharmacies in the East of England and East Midlands, while Pearl Chemist Group has 27 pharmacies in London and Surrey.

Mr Modi and Mr Patel join the current three committee members elected from non-CCA multiples. CPE said they will participate fully in both committee and subcommittee discussions, directly informing decision-making.

The new posts officially began from 11 December 2024 and are expected to last for a minimum of a year, depending on the outcome of further deliberations on committee structure, constitutional change and associated issues.

CPE invited applications from non-CCA multiples as part of a process to help rebalance the multiple half of the committee’s composition.

The negotiator’s governance and people subcommittee identified the need to rebalance due to a significant change in sector ownership since the last elections to the committee in 2023.

Adrian Price, chair of CPE’s governance and people subcommittee, said: ‘Whilst large scale constitutional change requires careful consideration, we have looked to move quickly in addressing the need to rebalance the committee’s make-up in favour of non-CCA multiples.’

Last year, nearly three-quarters (73.8%) of respondents to a survey by the Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA) –  then called the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies – expressed the view that the CPE was not representative of community pharmacies in England.

The IPA had argued that the CCA’s retention of nine out of 24 seats on the CPE committee was not representative of community pharmacy.