The first meeting of the new all-party parliamentary group on pharmacy took place in London on December 8. The objective of the group, which has elected Dr Howard Stoate (Lab, Dartford) to be its chairman, is "to raise awareness of pharmacy and pharmacists and to promote pharmacy's current and potential contribution to the health of the nation". It will cover both the hospital and the community sectors. Dr Jenny Tonge (Lib Dem, Richmond Park) and Lord Newton of Braintree (Con) were elected as vice-chairmen. Mr Mark Todd (Lab, Derbyshire South) was elected secretary and Mr David Heath (Lib Dem, Somerton and Frome) was elected treasurer.
The launch, which took place at the Department of Health's Richmond House headquarter's in Whitehall, was attended by MPs and peers from all parties and leading figures from the world of pharmacy.
Launching the group, Dr Stoate said: "Pharmacists are highly trained and extremely well motivated. The good news is that, because they already exist, using them properly does not actually cost anything. More importantly, they can save money for the National Health Service by taking some of the burden off the over-stretched front-line services." MPs got a number of complaints from their constituents, but he had never yet heard of anyone waiting four days to see their pharmacist, nor waiting six hours in a pharmacy before they were seen.
Mrs Gisela Stuart (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health) attended the launch. She said: "It is very timely what we are doing today. . . .The formation of the group coincides with the Government's determination to bring pharmacy to where it should have been for a long time. It is one of the most underused resources that we have." Community pharmacists were particularly useful for preventive advice in a way that the public had not always fully recognised.
Mrs Stuart referred to the Government's current "choose the right remedy this winter" campaign (PJ, December 4, p886). Pharmacists were prominent, she said, as one of the resources that people should use. Mrs Stuart said that community pharmacists had great potential. The winter campaign was just one of many initiatives to ensure that the public accessed health care at the appropriate level. To the patient, it did not matter what label a professional carer had. What was important was that advice was appropriate. Barriers had got to be broken down. There was a genuine commitment on the part of the Government to recognise the role of the pharmacist and expand it. It would be a win-win situation for all involved: pharmacists, the Government and the patient. Mrs Stuart congratulated all those involved on the launch of the group.
The group's next meeting will be on February 2 when Polly Toynbee, the journalist, will speak on emergency contraception (House of Commons committee room 19, 6pm). Dr Stoate said that other future subjects would include prescribing by pharmacists, medicines sales and the internet, and advertising of medicines.
The group is being supported by organisations representative of pharmacy, namely, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the National Pharmaceutical Association, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and the Company Chemists Association. All were represented at the launch. The four bodies have set up a steering group comprising an elected member and a public affairs official from each. The steering group supported the formation of the all-party group and now provides it with a secretariat. The steering group will advise the all-party group about current issues affecting pharmacy, but the MPs and peers will set their own agenda.
The all-party group is expected to address wider health-related issues as well as issues affecting pharmacy.
There are rules governing the establishment of all-party Parliamentary groups. They are each required, for instance, to have a membership that is open to all members of the House of Commons and their aims and objectives have to be parliamentary in character. They have to be registered with the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. However, they do not necessarily reflect the overall political balance of Parliament and are not subject to the control of the whips. They tend to cover subjects that are not contentious in party terms and the majority have a serious campaigning remit.
GROUP OFFICERS: Pictured with the Health Minister (Gisela Stuart, second left) are the officers of the group, (left to right) Mark Todd (secretary) Howard Stoate (chairman), Lord Newton and Jenny Tonge (both vice-chairmen). The treasurer (David Heath) was unable to be present |
AT THE LAUNCH: (left to right), Wally Dove (chairman of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee), Digby Emson (chairman of the Company Chemists Association), Gisela Stuart, Christine Glover (President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society) and Mark Koziol (a member of the Society's Council) |