Sharon works for NHS Highland in Inverness as a Consultant in Pharmaceutical Public Health. She combines a degree in Pharmacy and training and registration in Public Health to consider the use of pharmaceuticals (medicines) at a population level. In this role she provides professional leadership and highly specialist advice on pharmaceutical public health (PPH) issues, is responsible for leading the development and implementation of PPH policy and long term strategy for NHSH by defining the pharmaceutical needs of the population and develop, implement and evaluate interventions and services for health improvement/gain.
Essentially, she’s working at strategic level to support improved health of our public if medicines are required ensuring that they are used in a safe and effective manner. This can cover many aspects from defining what the needs of the population are with respect to medicines, planning the rollout of the COVID vaccination programme, medicines governance, pandemic planning and sustainable healthcare services and teaching the next generation of pharmacists. Her portfolio at present is focussed on reducing the environmental harm caused by healthcare, especially pharmaceuticals in the environment.
Visiting Professor, The Robert Gordon University, School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences (UK)
(2021)
Advanced Specialist Credentialing, Alliance for Water Stewardship (UK)
(2021)
Master of Public Health (Distinction), University of Nottingham (UK)
(2001)
See Sharon’s highlighted activity below:
Webinars & Podcasts
- British Medical Association online webinar “How can medical leaders manage the environmental impact of their prescribing?” (March 2021)
- The Pharmaceutical Journal podcast “Pandemic plus? The antibiotic resistance lurking in our rivers” with Professor Sharon Pfleger (NHS Highland and Robert Gordon University), Professor Alistair Boxall (University of York) and Professor Jason Snape (Global Head of Environmental Protection, AstraZeneca) (March 2022)
- Podcast “Pee, poo, sex and the One Health Concept” with the University of Aberdeen podcast series “Breaking the Ice Ceiling” (April 2021)
Publications
- Centre of Expertise for Waters (CREW) – Report, 2022, “Pharmaceuticals in the water environment: baseline assessment and recommendations“
- Centre of Expertise for Waters (CREW) – Policy Brief, 2022 “Environmentally informed pharmaceutical prescribing in Scotland”
- Association of Anaesthetists – Case Study, 2022 “Anaesthesia: Is it really pain free for the environment?“
- Caithness General Hospital case study – Journal publication 2020, “Assessing hospital impact of pharmaceuticals in a rural source-to-sink water system“
Conference activity
- Faculty of Public Health (FPH) Conference, 12-13 May 2022 – Sharon Pfleger (NHS Highland) presented “Integrated approaches – Health and the Environment” (YouTube video – from 30 min)
- British Water Micropollutants Conference, 29 March 2022 – Sharon Pfleger (NHS Highland) presented “From once upon a time to happy ever after: Tackling pharmaceutical pollution at source”
- NHS Scotland Sustainability Conference 2021: Delivering a green, just, resilient recovery, 10 November 2021 – Steering group members Sharon Pfleger (NHS Highland) and Elise Cartmell (Scottish Water) gave a joint-presentation “Water stewardship in healthcare, making every drop count”
More conference outputs available at Conference Activity