Wednesday, 30 April 2025
A Professor of Primary Care at the University of Nottingham has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Assembly (RPS), the organisation’s governing body.
Professor Tony Avery OBE is a practicing GP, a Professor of Primary Health Care in the School of Medicine at the University, National Clinical Director for Prescribing at NHS England, a Senior Investigator at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and a research co-lead at the NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Research Collaboration.
An Honorary Fellowship is awarded to those who have either attained a distinction in a particular aspect or aspects of pharmacy, made a distinctive contribution to pharmacy or the RPS, distinguished themselves in any branches of knowledge referred to in the objects of the Society or achieved eminence in public life.
This prestigious award is only made to those who are not eligible to be members of the Society.
Professor Avery’s career has focused on ensuring the safe, effective, and appropriate use of medicines. He has collaborated with healthcare professionals and patients to advance research and policy development in prescribing and patient safety, and led major studies on the frequency, nature, and causes of prescribing safety issues in the NHS.
Most recently he worked with RPS on the development of the RPS/RCGP Repeat prescribing toolkit. He has also developed effective methods to address hazardous prescribing, including the pharmacist-led, IT-based intervention known as PINCER.
Professor Avery joins a distinguished group of past nominees including Professor Richard Parish, Dr David Taylor, Professor William Charman, Professor Sam Salek, Sir Richard Sykes Dr Stewart Adams, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1955) who was the first recipient and Anne, Princess Royal (2001).
I am absolutely delighted that the RPS Assembly has agreed to award me an Honorary Fellowship of the Society. This is a great honour to me, as I have been a strong advocate for the pharmacy profession throughout my career. As a GP I witness the excellent work of pharmacy teams on a daily basis in both community pharmacy and general practice.
“As a researcher, my studies have demonstrated the positive impact pharmacists can make in medicines optimisation, particularly for improving medication safety. In my National Clinical Director for Prescribing role I work with fantastic pharmacy colleagues across the profession, and I am in awe of their dedication and commitment to improving patient care.”
Paul Bennett, RPS CEO said: “I am delighted that members of Assembly have honoured Professor Avery with this prestigious award. Professor Avery is well known for his research in primary care with a focus on patient safety, prescribing errors, medication errors, medicines optimisation and electronic prescribing systems.
“Having collaborated closely with RPS over several years, most recently on the development of the ‘RPS/RCGP Repeat prescribing toolkit’, his significant contributions to pharmacy and RPS are fully recognised by this well-deserved award. He has consistently championed the role of pharmacists as leaders in the field of research and policy development to support the safer use of medicines.
“This award reflects the high esteem in which Professor Avery and his work is held by the Society.”
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 97 in the world and 17th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the third most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2024 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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