Pharmacists should not wait to be asked for involvement in consultations on a national plan for the National Health Service. That is the view of the immediate past-President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (Mr Hemant Patel). Speaking to The Journal on May 8, Mr Patel said: "Pharmacists should not wait for their health authorities to get in touch with local pharmaceutical committees. They should go the health authorities and say ‘how can we help you'."
Mr Patel's comments came shortly after he received a copy of a letter sent by the National Health Service Executive's regional director for London to health authority and trust chief executives. The letter set a short timescale for involvement in the development of local input into the national consultations.
So far as London was concerned, the priorities outlined in the letter were to identify issues and suggestions that had wide support from clinicians and stakeholders, to put forward practical suggestions for short-term and long-term action, and to ensure that local issues were included in the final national agenda.

Physical modernisation of hospitals is to be accompanied by modernisation of the way the NHS operates