The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7155 p15-16
July 7, 2001

  Pharmacy technicians
  Education
  Amfebutamone
  Self-checking
  SGM
  Separate registers
  Primary care pharmacy

Pharmacy technicians (2 letters)

Time for a rational debate

From Mr N. H. E. Dixon, MRPharmS

Recent developments have seen the community pharmacist’s involvement in patient group directions (smoking cessation clinics, treatment of head lice and emergency hormonal contraception). This is just a beginning and many of us would agree it is not before time. However the very nature of our open access relationship with the public means that if anyone turns up needing supplies of any of the medicines mentioned above during a busy dispensing period, then there are real constraints on our ability to deliver a quality service.

If we are to continue to use our skills and knowledge we must devolve our more routine tasks to competent members of staff. Our colleagues in hospital pharmacy have recognised this for some time and use checking technicians to dispense repeat medication. In the community I think we must do the same and yet there still seems some unease with the concept.

The new role will require an additional qualification, but would aid staff recruitment and retention by extending the career structure within the pharmacy. I do not believe there would be any large financial savings because there would need to be increased remuneration for those involved.

We must retain responsibility for the dispensing process but recognise our value to the health service goes beyond the mechanical process of continually rechecking repeat medication. I think it is time for a rational debate on the issues and to ask the leaders of our profession to state their views.

Noel Dixon
Director,
Dixon & Hall Ltd

Allowing pharmacists to be more clinically focused

From Mr S. G. Woods, MRPharmS

Mike Williams (PJ, 23 June, p855) misses the point, I think. The use of dispensing technicians in primary care trusts (I currently work with two within my PCT) is to ease the burden of work on the PCT pharmacists. The technicians carry out straightforward audits, equalising quantities on repeat prescriptions and identifying particular patients. These allow the pharmacist to carry out clinical audits on the data generated by this work, which is more than enough to keep us busy. We work as a team and the technicians play an important role in doing the groundwork to allow us to be more clinically focused.

Stephen Woods
Prescribing Team Pharmacist,
Salford Primary Care Trust

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