First Minister’s support for pharmacists
A call for the National Health Service to make better
use of pharmacists was made by the First Minister in the National Assembly
for Wales, Rhodri Morgan, when — as a surprise guest — he helped celebrate
the silver jubilee of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Welsh Executive.
Launching the 2001 annual general meeting for members
of the Society in Wales, held at Techniquest, Cardiff Bay, on 17 July,
the First Minister said there was a need to get away from an “ill-health
service” to the avoidance of illness, from inpatient treatment to health
improvement. Examples were provided by community pharmacy advice and pharmacist
participation in national service frameworks, which helped to reduce demands
on the NHS. He welcomed the fact that pharmacists served on all the local
health groups in Wales, and chaired some of them.
Mr Morgan said that legislative developments would
recognise the role of pharmacists in achieving a cost-effective, efficient
and more patient-friendly NHS. The community pharmacist was the most under-used
resource in the NHS, and maybe the hospital pharmacist, too. The profession
and the National Assembly had to promote community pharmacy. Particularly
important was promotion by those outside the profession, because they
could not be accused of self-interest. The National Assembly had to make
full use of all professions, and so needed to create a greater understanding
and a vision.
The First Minister concluded by congratulating the
Welsh Executive on what it had achieved and on what he was sure it would
achieve.
Mr Morgan had been welcomed to the meeting by the
outgoing chairman of the Welsh Executive, Colin Ranshaw, who congratulated
the National Assembly on finally catching up with the Welsh Executive
after 23 years. Mr Ranshaw also welcomed the Society’s President (Marshall
Davies) and the chief executive and secretary and registrar of the Pharmaceutical
Society of Northern Ireland (Sheila Maltby).
Presenting the annual report of the Welsh Executive
for 2000, Mr Ranshaw said that pharmacy in Wales needed to build on the
strengths offered by devolution. Devolution had brought about a political
and cultural change that those in Wales had to embrace seriously. Wales
was not an annex of England. And one did not have to be a nationalistic
extremist to be proud of one’s nation.
Like its founders 25 years ago, Mr Ranshaw had had
a vision for the Welsh Executive. That vision had not been fulfilled but,
as Ron Davies [when Secretary of State for Wales] had said, “devolution
is a process, not an event”.
Mr Ranshaw continued: “Being elected to a position
of leader is about offering leadership of our — of your — vision and for
that we need to engage all of you thoroughly. We are accountable to you.
And for that we need your involvement through the local branches, so that
we have your trust and support, ie, a mandate to work with. Standing still
is not an option, we have to evolve and develop with the new style consensus
devolved government, new technologies (computers and gene technology)
and heightened patient expectations.”
In his report, Mr Ranshaw described some of the
highlights and achievements of the executive’s work with the National
Assembly and NHS Wales. Consultation and participation in the strategic
framework for promoting sexual health in Wales had led to recognition
of pharmacy’s input into successful implementation of the strategy. Work
with the Prescribing Task and Finish Group had contributed to the group’s
report and to the wide-ranging recommendations that offered enormous opportunities
for pharmacy to improve services for patients.
Following submissions to the steering group for
the Welsh national service framework on coronary heart disease, the executive
had been invited to the stakeholder workshop for the final part of the
process to develop the framework and implementation plan. The Minister
for Health and Social Services, Jane Hutt, had launched the plan on 6
July.
The executive, with partner pharmacy bodies, had
worked hard to provide input to the health plan for Wales, “Improving
health in Wales”.
During a period of discussion after the formal business
of the AGM, Dr Martin King expressed concern that the Society’s Council
did not seem to take the Welsh Executive seriously.
In reply, Mr Ranshaw stated that the new President
and Vice-President appeared supportive of Welsh Executive strategy, and
models from Wales might be applied in England. The executive had moved
a long way during his years in office but there was still a long way to
go.
Terry Turner suggested that perhaps more effort
was needed to elect members from Wales to the Council.
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