From Mr Alan Nathan, FRPharmS
SIR—In his letter in The Journal on September 4 (p349), Dr Brian Curwain expressed concern that the Society appears to be unwilling to recognise or set up any sort of body representing pharmacists working in primary care. I would like to assure Dr Curwain and his colleagues that this is not the case, and that a Council working group has been developing ideas for new membership group and/or committee structures in the community /primary care sector, to respond to the needs of pharmacists in this emerging specialism.
The working group has formulated several options to be put to a meeting in November, to which all bodies and organisations involved in community and primary care pharmacy have been invited to send a representative. The list of 17 organisations invited includes the Primary Care Pharmacists' Association, the Prescribing Support Pharmacists' Group, the United Kingdom Clinical Pharmacy Association (Primary Care Group) and the Pharmaceutical and Medical Advisers' Forum (Wales), as well as longer established bodies such as the Primary and Community Care Pharmacy Network (formerly Community Service Pharmacists' Group) and the Pharmaceutical Advisers' Group.
The working group will meet immediately following that meeting to formulate proposals to put to the Council at its December meeting. If the proposals are approved, implementation can be initiated early in the new year.
Alan Nathan
Chairman, Working Group on Membership and Special Interest Groups, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, London