From Mr W. T. Brookes, FRPharmS
SIR,—The report and leading article on the payment of Council members' expenses and attendance fees (PJ, February 12) drew attention to the lack of any facility for the reimbursement of locum expenses incurred by proprietor pharmacists who serve on the Council. A number of members pointed out that this was discriminatory and would discourage potential candidates from standing for the Council because they would not be able to afford locums.
The position of many pharmacists who attend the branch representatives' meeting is exactly the same in that they are not able to claim for locum costs. They either attend and lose out financially or do not attend and the branch and the meeting lose out. A member of my own branch (South Cheshire) is no longer prepared to represent the branch at this event because the last time she did she was over £100 out of pocket. Who can blame her?
The latest paper from the Council on the future of the BRM looked at why the number attending was falling but did not address this point. Perhaps when the next paper on Council expenses is considered by the Council whatever is agreed as fair and appropriate for proprietor pharmacists attending the Council meetings in respect of locum expenses will also be applied to those attending as branch representatives. It is an issue that the proposed focus group on the BRM will wish to look at.
W. T. Brookes
Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire