From Mr G. W. Walker, FRPharmS
SIR,—Some months ago I wrote forecasting that the end of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's statutory powers was in sight (PJ, July 29, p160). I believed that to retain its powers the Society should not only satisfy the Government, which it does not, but also those upon whom the powers is exercised, namely, its members.
The recent judgment of the Statutory Committee in striking off a member for allegedly overstating his mileage as a locum (PJ, November 18, p751) surely means that this august, antiquated body is ready for the chop. The published evidence reveals that the member had not been prosecuted but had been referred to the Statutory Committee by the Council. Instead of prosecution, he had been persecuted by a computer program called Route-finder. He did not deny that he had overclaimed some expenses which he had repaid, yet the chairman recommended that he be removed from the Register of Pharmaceutical Chemists, although there was no evidence presented that the member was incompetent as a pharmacist.
Any reasonable person would have considered a reprimand excessive, but the decision of our Statutory Committee was so draconian that one can only hope that the pharmacist appeals to the High Court to reverse the judgment. I feel so strongly about this decision that I will be among the first to contribute to a fund to meet the High Court appeal costs.
In the meantime, I suggest we get a committee that understands the long hours and long journeys that are undertaken by locum pharmacists to maintain our national pharmaceutical service.
From the point of view of this practising member and long-term subscriber to the good sense of self-regulation, it seems that the present committee understands neither the role of the Statutory Committee nor the profession it serves. It should now resign before it creates an even greater rift between the Society and its members.
Graham Walker Dartington, Devon