From Miss J. Goulding, MRPharmS
SIR,-As pointed out by Martin Palmer in his "Broad Spectrum" article (PJ, March 11, p404) it is indeed that time of year again: the time of year when a few individuals get very heated about the some old "points and bugbears" and the vast majority of pharmacists say they do not care anyway. It is time for the Council elections.
I must say that I definitely concur with a lot of the article. The question "Why, as a profession, are we so apathetic and apolitical?" especially is an issue I personally hope to be investigating very soon. One thing however I would like to point out to Mr Palmer is that the hustings he mentioned in his article as part of the present arrangements are not organised by the Society or even part of the Society. For several years now, in an attempt to open up the Council elections and give the electorate more of a chance to see whole they are voting for, the Young Pharmacists' Group has organised the annual hustings. The event is organised without any support from the Society. The YPG believes that a hustings event is a democratic right and should form part of the formal election. However, the Society has always been reluctant to take on the event. It almost seems that it is as uninterested in the Council election procedure as the electorate.
So, until such time as the Society decides to formalise proceedings, the YPG will continue to hold the hustings every year in an attempt to stimulate debate and interest in who represents our interests at the Society. This year the hustings will be held on Sunday, April 16, at the Crowne Plaza hotel, Birmingham.
I thank Mr Palmer for his article highlighting the problems of Council elections and look forward, I hope, to seeing him at the YPG hustings where he could pose a few of his questions to the Council election candidates in person.
Jo Goulding
Young Pharmacists' Group