The National Pharmaceutical Association has told the Royal Pharmaceutical Society that there should be regional elections for seats on the Society's Council and that there should also be guaranteed seats for specific sectors of the profession.
Considering the Society's consultation paper on the composition and election of the Council (PJ, April 22, p616), board members agreed that the size of the Council was right and that there was room for directly elected representatives and sectional nominees. The Society's branch and regional infrastructure would be strengthened by regional elections, they felt. They believed that the existing three Privy Council nominees provided a sufficient level of public protection. Where issues would benefit from input from patient representatives, these could be included on ad hoc committees or time-limited working groups. Board members favoured the single transferable vote.
Other matters considered at the NPA board's May meeting are reported below.
Generic prices Proposed Government measures to set maximum prices for generic medicines should not unfairly prejudice community pharmacists or disadvantage their patients, board members decided. They were concerned that no alternative to Category D had been proposed. It would be wrong to burden patients and pharmacists with returning prescriptions to general medical practitioners for alteration when generics were unavailable. It would be unreasonable to expect pharmacists to supply medicines to patients at a loss.
Nursing and residential homes It was decided to draw up a strategy for developing community pharmacy services to residential and nursing homes in the light of recent changes to legislation and possible moves away from community pharmacists as providers. Health authorities could now contract for a wider range of services than before.
Interpersonal skills A training pack on interpersonal skills had been developed in association with Whitehall Laboratories. It addressed the interpersonal skills needed in a wide range of situations, from day-to-day pharmacy consultations to multidisciplinary team meetings.