To check or not to check

By the beginning of 2005, pharmacists will be expected to have written standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place, covering all aspects of the dispensing process. The guidance on “Developing and implementing SOPs for dispensing” from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society is now out for consultation in the profession and is printed in full in this issue (pp616–19).

As readers of The Journal will note from our news feature on p615, putting such procedures together need not be daunting and that among the benefits of writing SOPs is the fact that they can improve the efficiency of a pharmacy and make life easier for pharmacists and pharmacy staff alike.

The writing of operating procedures is not really a contentious issue. The more controversial aspect of the SOP development process is self-checking by non-pharmacists. The Council's current policy, as presented in the guidance, is that self-checking by non-pharmacists is not recommended. However, as the introduction to the guidance explains, this recommendation needs to be revised to take account of the changing climate that pharmacists are already working in, alongside technicians who are trained and accredited for checking. In addition, developments in pharmacy, particularly in medicines management in the next few years, will demand more from pharmacists themselves and many might find it hard to develop their skills if they still have to oversee this part of the dispensing process.

To many young pharmacists and those used to working with trained technicians, the checking procedure “following the assembly and labelling of prescriptions” may, superficially, be a non-issue and not worthy of debate: of course non-pharmacists should do it provided they are properly trained and accredited. The Council wishes this policy to change to “allow the profession to move forward by permitting increased use of appropriately trained staff”.

The really interesting question facing the pharmacy profession over the question of checking is this: who should do the training and who should provide the accrediting framework? The first part of the question is easier to answer than the second.

With the publication of the SOPs guidance, there is no further reason why the Royal Pharmaceutical Society should not take this opportunity to welcome technicians into the fold in some capacity and take responsibility for their accreditation and registration. That way the Society could be sure that the whole pharmacy team in the new NHS is a professional one. “No, we cannot do that,” say the conservatives. “That would dilute our influence.”

But if the Society does not provide that umbrella, who will?

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