The future roles and remuneration of pharmacists will to a large extent be determined by the contents of the Government's increasingly long-awaited strategy for community pharmacy. The latest indication from Ministers is that this document - which has been "delayed" for over a year now - is to be published shortly.
If a week is a long time in politics, "shortly" would seem to be an eternity. A Department of Health spokesman later clarified to The Journal that "shortly" could in fact mean "next year" (p808), Thus it would seem that while other health matters can demand urgent action from the Government, community pharmacists must wait from one millennium to the next to find out what is in store for them.
Health Ministers should clear this document from the in-tray where it currently lies marooned before it becomes fossilised.