From Mr B. Patel, MRPharmS and Mr V. Patel, MRPharmS
SIR,—We write to express our endorsement of the opinions expressed by Messrs Patel and Boorman, colleague local pharmaceutical committee chairmen in their "Open letter to the Secretary of State for Health" (PJ, September 4, p361), a copy of which has been drawn to the attention of our representative Members of Parliament. Our experiences in North and South Essex are a mirror of the picture in Barking & Havering and Redbridge & Waltham Forest. We suspect that the problems facing community pharmacy are equally disturbing throughout the rest of the country.
The exclusion of community pharmacists from the board level of primary care groups has effectively inhibited contribution to the development of the primary care trusts. In the very near future we will embark upon another round of "insecurity and uncertainty".
We, too, are committed to developing a new National Health Service but it is vital that we do so from a strong base.
Bharat Patel
Chairman, South Essex LPC
Vipin Patel
Chairman, North Essex LPC