From Mrs A. Y. Walker, MRPharmS
SIR,-I was shocked, as I am sure we all were, by the tragic death of a baby due to a dispensing error (PJ, March 11, p390). However, I was even more shocked by the reactions of the powers that be who organise our education and training standards. The suggestion that pharmacists may not, in the future, be allowed to dispense extemporaneous formulae seems to me to indicate that the profession has lost its way.
Surely the preparation or supervision of the preparation of medicines is the essence of pharmacy and if this task is removed from general practice we will lose all credibility. Compounding old fashioned formulae does not happen every day, or even every week, but the ability to carry out this craft must be taught to young pharmacists. Dispensing remains our core function, for, if it does not, we shall all be seeking a new job description.
One wonders what Professor Mackie et al are teaching these days. The products of the modern schools of pharmacy seem to be very comfortable with computer technology and can talk at length to customers about drug interactions or side effects. But ask them to dispense a prescription and many are left floundering. The balance of training courses must be altered before we become too dependent on modern technology, which we should remember is an add-on to our skills, not a substitute for those skills.
Ann Walker
Glasgow