The Society

Committee proceedings

Practice

Repeat dispensing issues to be examined The Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Practice Committee has approved the establishment of a working group to consider the professional issues surrounding the implementation of schemes for repeat dispensing within community pharmacy.

Making its decision at a meeting on May 1, the committee noted that the logistical aspects of repeat dispensing were being considered by a Department of Health project group and the contractual aspects by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee. The Department had agreed that it would be helpful for the Society to take the lead in defining and considering the professional issues.

The committee felt that it was important for the working group to work alongside the Department’s timetable, ensuring that their working programmes did not overlap or conflict, and to keep in touch with the medicines management advisory group.

The working group would consist of relevant members of staff plus representatives from community pharmacy organisations, general practice and the Patients Association. Although repeat dispensing schemes were expected to apply only to general practice at first, it was also agreed that a hospital pharmacist’s input would be helpful.

The committee agreed that pharmacists who had worked on repeat dispensing local pilots should be asked to feed in information on their experiences. Responses should be sent to Janet Flint, Practice Division, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, 1 Lambeth High Street, London SE1 7JX (fax 020 7582; e-mail jflint@rpsgb.org.uk).

Out-of-hours services The Practice Committee agreed a number of principles relating to pharmacy support for out-of-hours general practitioner services. The principles would not be intended as a definitive statement but would be a basis for discussion with stakeholders, including other pharmacy bodies and the Department of Health.

The committee was informed that an independent review of GP out-of-hours services in England, commissioned by the Department and published in October, 2000, had been welcomed by the Department, which was assessing the measures needed to ensure successful implementation.

Within the National Health Service Executive, the lead on out-of-hours provision of medicines and advice was being taken by Helen Allanson, regional pharmaceutical adviser to the NHSE north west regional office, who had attended a meeting at the Society and had also met representatives of the National Pharmaceutical Association and Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee. She had said she would welcome the Society’s input.

Among the principles agreed were that all out-of-hours services should have access to comprehensive pharmacy support and that all out-of-hours pharmaceutical services should be of equivalent standard to those provided during normal working hours. There should be a service level agreement between the out-of-hours provider and the pharmacy service, and the service should be cost-effective and fully funded by the NHS.

Diabetes screening The Practice Committee considered a draft guidance document on the community pharmacist’s role in early identification of diabetes. The guidance had been developed by Irene Gummerson (a member of the Society’s diabetes task force) with input from others. The committee noted that the diabetes national service framework being developed for England could create opportunities for community pharmacists to play a greater role in early screening for diabetes. In the light of suggestions made by committee members, it was agreed that a further draft should be prepared for future consideration by the committee.

MEP amendments The Practice Committee approved proposals for a number of amendments to the practice guidance given in Part 3 of ‘Medicines, ethics and practice: a guide for pharmacists’. Guidance readily accessible from other sources would be deleted and replaced by a reference to its availability elsewhere. Some guidance in need of revision would be updated and retained. Some would be removed pending a decision on the need for updated guidance. Other guidance would be reviewed and placed on the Society’s website, with the MEP carrying a reference to availability from that source or on request from the Society.

SOPs for dispensing The Practice Committee noted that the closing date for comments on the Society’s draft guidance on standard operating procedures for dispensing had been put back because of the need for the Council to review its policy on self-checking by non-pharmacists (PJ, April 14, p499). Comments on the document (PJ, May 5, p616) would be accepted up to July 2.

Education

Degree accreditation The Education Committee approved for further five-year periods the accreditation of the master of pharmacy degree courses of the University of Bradford, the University of Strathclyde and the School of Pharmacy, University of London.

Pharmacy course applications The Education Committee noted that applications to schools of pharmacy for entry in autumn, 2001, showed an overall decline. The education division had been monitoring applications since the committee’s January meeting and now had figures for 12 schools. The average decrease in applications was more than 10 per cent, although figures for individuals schools ranged from a decrease of 25 per cent to an increase of 11 per cent.

The committee noted that there were many possible factors contributing to the decline, which was apparently reflected in other courses, including medicine. If the decline was part of a continuing trend, it would not be long before schools of pharmacy had to reduce their entry requirements to meet their universities’ student numbers quotas.

Science

Harrison medal The Science Committee heard that Professor Roger Waigh (University of Strathclyde) had agreed to accept the Society’s Harrison memorial medal for 2002. He would deliver his medal lecture at the 2002 British Pharmaceutical Conference.

Diagnostic testing The Science Committee agreed that action should be taken to promulgate information to practising pharmacists on developments in diagnostic testing, which it was felt would become an important part of medicines management by pharmacists. Although the development of new diagnostic techniques would take some years, planning should start as soon as possible. The committee identified a number of ideas for the promulgation of information.

Drug delivery The Science Committee noted that the Society was to host a small meeting of interested parties with the aim of progressing the proposals in the report “UK drug delivery research: The way forward in the new millennium”. Copies of the report — produced by the committee’s working party on drug delivery — had been distributed to the pharmaceutical industry, small and medium enterprises and the Government’s research councils. It appeared that funding could be available from Government sources to take the work forward.

British Association The Science Committee was advised that the Society had the opportunity to present a half-day session on “Cannabis as a medicine” at the 2001 science festival of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, in Glasgow. The committee recognised that the event would give good exposure for the Society’s science profile and agreed to proceed, subject to resources being available.

Conference It was reported to the Science Committee that most speakers at science sessions of the 2001 British Pharmaceutical Conference had now been confirmed. The four themes would be global pharmacy, infection, heart disease and cancer.