From Mr A. R. Cox, MRPharmS
SIR,—Mr H. Fox raised in his letter (PJ, August 28, p321) the issue of regional representation on the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Council, as a method of improving the Council’s standing with, and accountability to, the membership.
The present electoral system of nationally elected Council members is failing the membership. The number of ballot papers returned is low and the information which members have to base their votes on is limited. Important branches of pharmacy are also under-represented on the Council.
A change to regionally elected Council members, along with performance reviews and changes to the expenses system, would make the Council more accountable to the membership. Members could build a constructive relationship with their regional representative and the Council member would have direct responsibilities to their electorate. For the remaining seats on the Council, thought should be given to having a mechanism for guaranteed seats on the Council for different branches of the profession, based on votes polled from those members in that area of work.
Over the past two years the election of the President of the Society has also been clouded in controversy. One solution to this problem is to allow the membership to directly elect the President for a two-year period of office. This would provide much needed stability to the leadership of the Society.
Change is essential for the Society to continue to safeguard and promote the interests of the members effectively and we must have a strong and united body to represent us in the difficult times ahead.
Anthony Cox
Sutton Coldfield