From Mr H. Argomandkhah, MRPharmS
SIR,—I have been following the correspondence in the PJ, between Mr Phillips and Mrs Remington (PJ, February 5, p210). I hope your readers do not get the impression that there may be a divide in the profession at hospital and community practice level.
Let me reassure Mr Phillips that there are still one or two full time practising community pharmacists working at the sharp end sitting around the Council table. His views and those of some of the other correspondents were conveyed to the Council, together with the views of other pharmaceutical bodies. It was only after this that the final skill mix report was published.
Clearly, pharmacy needs to move forward but it is my personal view that the speed of change should be controlled to carry the majority of the profession with it.
The danger Mr Phillips is alluding to is that the Council may be becoming remote from practice (hence the offer of "employment" to Mrs Remington). I can assure Mr Phillips and others that, as long as I am around, he should have no fear in that regard.
The other real danger, of course, is that increasing demand on the time of Council members together with shortages of locums might deprive the Council of the experienced community pharmacists we are talking about. We must ensure the workload stays balanced, thus ensuring that all sectors of the profession are represented by experienced and practising pharmacists from those sectors.
"Moving forward together" should be the slogan of the profession.
Hassan Argomandkhah
Liverpool