PJ Letters: Primary Care

Home > PJ > Letters

The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7159 p151-153
4 August 2001

Letters

  Primary care
  Pharmacy education
  Community pharmacy
  Hospital pharmacy
  The Profession
  Preregistration
  P-to-GSL
  Diabetes
  The Journal

Letters to the Editor

Primary Care (3 letters)

Why is pharmacy bypassed?

From Mr J. F. Bannister, MRPharmS

Since my initial letter (PJ, 16 June), setting out my fears regarding dispensing technicians, there have been published replies from many correspondents — mostly calling me short-sighted and lacking vision.

How I hope they are right and I am proven wrong, but experience and a sixth sense tells me I am not. Pharmacists, as we all know, have been repeatedly bypassed in a number of issues by the Department of Health, the most irritating being nurse prescribing. Who, except a general practitioner, is the most suitably qualified professional to prescribe? A pharmacist of course, so why are we not prescribing? The answer is cost. They can pay a nurse less to do the job.

The same thing applies to prescriptions. If a dispensing technician can do the job cheaper, then it is a short slide, easily achieved by this Government in the name of change and modernisation, and no doubt proven by “value added audit” simply to phase out the pharmacist altogether.

You think I am wrong? How many primary care trusts have pharmacist representation on them? Not too many, I suggest. There are plenty of doctors, dentists, nurses, community and social workers and probably plenty of lay members, however. It is not a requirement to have pharmacy representation, and where pharmacy is represented, it has had to fight tooth and nail for the privilege. The prescribing lead of our PCT was actually given to a nurse. If we are not primary care then what are we?

John Bannister
Colne, Lancashire

Representation

From Mrs S. Carter, MRPharmS

Miall James (PJ, 14 July) raises an interesting and important issue about the need for legal representation for pharmacists working in a primary care setting. The Primary Care Pharmacists Association strongly recommends that pharmacists working in primary care have their own indemnity insurance and legal cover even if they are employed, and especially if they are self employed, but the organisation is not currently in a position to provide legal services. Pharmacists employed by the National Health Service can obtain legal cover through a variety of providers, including Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists, Jardines and the Pharmacy Insurance Agency. GHP membership provides indemnity cover and also representation in employment/contractual rights issues. Self-employed pharmacists can obtain indemnity insurance through Jardines or the PIA.

Sue Carter
Chairman,
Primary Care Pharmacists Association

Top of the list or bottom of the class?

From Mrs J. C. R. Turvey, MRPharmS

I visited my home town of Aberdeen recently with my husband. On arrival at a camp site we were given a local information sheet. The first item was headed “Health and medical” and contained four entries in the following order: chemist, dentist, doctor, hospital.

I was pleased to see our profession listed at the head of primary care albeit, perhaps, as an alphabetical consequence. Pharmacist, of course, would have been listed at the other end!

José Turvey
Farley, Wiltshire

Next Topic (Pharmacy education)
Send your letter to The Editor