The National Pharmaceutical Association has told the Medicines Control Agency that its proposals for group protocols [now called patient group directions] will have an effect contrary to the Crown report recommendations on which they are based (PJ, March 18, p424).
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NEW CHAIRMAN: The National Pharmaceutical Association's board of management has elected Mr Ben Zatland (centre) to succeed Mr Kirit Patel as chairman. Mr Gerald Alexander (right) has been elected vice-chairman and Mr Peter Jenkins has been re-elected treasurer. Mr Zatland has represented West London on the board since 1995 and Mr Alexander has represented North and West London since 1995. |
CD licences Pharmacists should not be responsible for checking that prescribers of Controlled Drugs were licensed, board members felt. Apart from that, they welcomed a Home Office proposal that only licensed doctors should be allowed to prescribe CDs (PJ, April 1, p499).
Lifelong learning Moves by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society to ensure professional competence and lifelong learning (PJ, March 11, p400) were welcomed, so long as the objective was quality improvement, rather than increased regulation. Board members favoured a single register divided into practising (providing services to patients or other health care professionals) and non-practising sections.
Warfarin monitoring A number of bids for funding of pharmacy-based warfarin monitoring services had been made using an NPA resource pack.
Healthy living centres Almost half of the NPA members who attended healthy living centre workshops last year had started work towards establishing healthy living centre projects.
NHS Direct Board members welcomed an update on NHS Direct which set a target for the NHS to "complete the roll-out of NHS Direct by the end of 2000 and ensure that opportunities are taken to integrate NHS Direct and walk-in centres with modernised primary care services, including pharmacy". They were also pleased to see pharmacy given equal prominence with GPs, casualty departments and the ambulance service in a new NHS Direct advertising campaign.
Europe The board noted that the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union had produced papers on medicines advertising and patient information for a working group which was reviewing advertising of, and information about, medicines. It had also highlighted the efficient network of community pharmacies and the pharmacist's role in cost-effective health care in response to a draft paper "The role of the European Union in promoting a pharmaceutical policy reflecting citizens' needs: improving care, boosting innovative research and reducing health spending"