
Kandarp Thakkar
Chief Pharmacist & Clinical Director of Pharmacy & Medicines Optimisation,
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
After graduating from the London School of Pharmacy, Kandarp trained at Guy’s & St. Thomas’ Hospital before taking up a junior pharmacist post at Ealing Hospital. He joined Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (ICHNT) as part of the first admissions pharmacy team in 2004 and took on the post of Lead Pharmacist Admissions in 2007.
His specialist areas of clinical interest include acute and elderly medicine and research interests include improving prescribing for the elderly, antibiotic stewardship and quality improvement. Postgraduate education includes an MSc in qualitative research, a certificate in independent prescribing and a diploma in management.
Kandarp was project manager for various NIHR CLAHRC funded Improving Prescribing for the Elderly projects. After a stint as Deputy Chief Pharmacist at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Kandarp was appointed into his first Chief Pharmacist role at Bedford Hospital NHS Trust in December 2014. After taking on some wider divisional leadership roles within planned care and women & children’s, Kandarp served as Chief Pharmacist in King’s College London in Dubai before returning to the NHS in 2020 to be Director of Integration & Transformation in the newly merged Bedfordshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. He is currently the Chief Pharmacist & Clinical Director for Medicines Optimisation at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust. He also is founder and director of his own consulting business.
His interests include transformational change, developing prescribing Pharmacists, inclusive Pharmacy practice, medication safety and improving organisational efficiency. Kandarp is currently on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Medicines Optimisation and APPAG.
He is also a SW England representative for the Acute Providers Pharmacy Advisory Group (APPAG).
Sessions
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09-May-2025Leadership & Professional Development TheatreTransforming our team: a tale of tumbles and triumphs