The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 266 No 7153 p852-856
June 23, 2001

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National Health Service

Crumbs from the table

From Mr M. R. Hickey, MRPharmS

In your editorial of June 16 (“Gongs and wrongs”, p799) you suggest that “pharmacy would see itself as taking its place on the top NHS table if knighthoods or damehoods were awarded [to pharmacists] on a regular basis”. I would suggest that most pharmacists would see themselves as having gained such a place if they were paid commensurately for the work they perform. It would make a nice change from having to perform new and original services for nothing, and for routinely scraping around for crumbs from the table, all the while watching the other more media friendly health professions gain all the plaudits, all the new finance and all the credit for looking after the nation’s health.

One would have hoped that in Blair’s new meritocratic Britain the awards and honours system could have been dispensed with. Sadly not, but I would hope that our elected representatives are busy lobbying politicians for the profession and not for the nice medal and the colourful ribbon that is all too often the sycophant’s reward.

Maurice Hickey
Forres, Morayshire

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