The Royal Pharmaceutical Society is seeking the views of its members on the composition of the Council and the election of Council members, as part of a series of consultations on a new legal framework for professional regulation (PJ, March 11, p400).
The consultation exercise is being conducted by the Council's Health Act working party, which has the aim of developing proposals for a modern, dependable and effective framework in line with the expectations of the Government and the public. Members' views on the Council's composition and elections are being sought through a four-page consultation paper published this week as a supplement to The Journal. The paper is already available on the Society's website (www.rpsgb.org.uk/29-hawp2.htm). Comments are sought by May 26.
The preliminary consultation paper is the second to be issued by the Health Act working party. The first, published with The Journal of March 11, asked for members' views on measures to ensure professional competence and lifelong learning. The working party says that it is delighted with the encouraging response to that paper. Members' views are being collated and entered into a response database.
The total number of consultation papers has yet to be decided but will probably be at least five. Among the topics the working party is likely to consider is the regulation of pharmacy support staff. The working party will also revisit the profession's disciplinary machinery, but may not consult further on this matter in view of its earlier, thorough consultation.
The responses to all the preliminary consultations will be used to prepare a formal consultation document for circulation at a later date.
The Health Act working party was originally constituted as the disciplinary machinery working party, which in 1998 produced a consultation paper setting out proposals for reforming the profession's 40-year-old disciplinary legislation (PJ, May 2, 1998, p622).
Because the Health Act now gives Ministers wide ranging powers to amend all existing legislation in the field of professional regulation - including the provisions of Royal charters such as that of the Society - the Council decided to reconstitute the working party with a remit to examine all aspects of pharmacy's professional regulation.