THE NSW branch of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia has welcomed the appointment of Brad Hazzard as the state's new health minister, with the appointment announced following the resignation of long-time incumbent Jillian Skinner.
NSW Guild branch president Rick Samimi said Skinner had been a strong advocate for community pharmacy, recognising the scope for pharmacists to do more - such as the 2015 introduction of pharmacist vaccination.
More recently Skinner faced hostile media attention over a chemotherapy under-dosing scandal, a deadly baby gassing tragedy and cremation mix-ups.
Samimi said "This is a challenging time for the state government that offers great opportunities to improve health outcomes for the NSW community.
"We look forward to being an important partner in that process," he added, saying the 1,700 community pharmacies in NSW "stand ready to make an even greater contribution to the health system".
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