01/05/2026
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David Holmes has been a committee member for 6 years and, last year, was voted in as vice chair. We caught up with David to find out more about him, his career to date and how he got involved in pharmacy. Over to you David!
โAt school, I enjoyed science, but it wasnโt until our careersโ advisor mentioned Pharmacy that I decided to explore the subject as a potential profession. As soon as I looked into it as a potential career, I knew it was something I wanted to do.
โI studied Pharmacy at The University of East Anglia. Whilst there I met the Boots UK Teacher Practitioner, and he spoke passionately about his career at Boots. This passion was infectious and I applied for the third-year summer placement programme at Boots and never looked back! After graduating in 2008, I completed my pre-registration year with Boots in Epping and Saffron Waldon, two very different businesses, which helped set me up for the future as a community pharmacist.
โAfter passing my GPhC exam, I got a job offer from Boots as a relief pharmacist in West Hertfordshire & North London. I spent 6 months on relief, then completed a โstepping stone into store managementโ programme, before becoming a pharmacist store manager.
โI relocated to Nottingham in 2014 and after a spell as a Pharmacist Store Manager, I moved into a support office role. I worked on the pharmacy helpdesk answering clinical and operational queries from stores, which was very rewarding as I could use my own experiences to support my store-based colleagues. I also did โcopy approvalโ to ensure any patient facing content is clinically appropriate and the best it can be.
โFollowing that rotational role, I was offered a position in the pharmacy operations team, and got involved with the development of the in-house pharmacy medication system and become a product manager.
โAs a product manager, it was my responsibility to identify the customer need and larger business objectives that the product aimed to achieve; and to encourage, support and motivate a team to turn that vision into reality.
โAfter four years, I decided I wanted to return to stores and Iโm currently a Professional Standards and Quality Manager for Boots. I lead the patient safety agenda & professional standards across multiple areas and regions, ensuring that patient care is at the heart of decision making.
โI joined the committee to represent community pharmacy, influence local healthcare policy, improve local pharmacy services and advocate for the profession. LPCs are the local voice for community pharmacy and joining the committee is a fantastic way to represent the views of community pharmacy
โOutside of work, Iโm married to Chelsea and we have two daughters and a Cockapoo! We love to get away on holiday and travel as much as we can. Growing up in North London, I try to get back to London to see friends and family often. And itโs always a bonus if I can get the odd Arsenal match in at the same time!โ
