PJ Online | News: NPA to support veterinary pharmacy

The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7171 p585-589
27 October 2001

NPA to support veterinary pharmacy

The National Pharmaceutical Association is to offer its members more support for providing veterinary pharmacy services.

The NPA believes that there is clear evidence that veterinary medicines are a profitable and professional service opportunity for members. It is to submit evidence to the Competition Commission, which has been asked by the Office of Fair Trading to investigate the supply of prescription only veterinary medicines (PJ, 13 October, p495).

In a further development, the European Commission is proposing to make all medicines for food-producing animals prescription only. The NPA believes that pharmacy medicine status for veterinary medicines is the correct way forward.

Other matters discussed at the NPA board's October meeting are detailed below.

Control of entry An NPA working party is to develop a response to the Office of Fair Trading's decision to study the control of entry to National Health Service contracts for pharmaceutical services (PJ, 6 October, p451).

Disability Discrimination Act An information leaflet is to be produced to explain consequences of pharmacies being required by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to make services accessible to all people with disabilities, including those with visual and hearing impairment, mental disabilities, and mobility problems by 2004.

Nurse Prescribing The NPA believes that nurses should only be able to prescribe within their individual competences and that these should be specified within the POM Order so that nurses can only prescribe for disease areas for which they have been trained. Board members do not consider sinusitis, gingivitis, cellulitis and chronic skin ulcers to be minor ailments for which nurses should be able to prescribe antibiotics.

Bulk purchasing by PCTs Reports that several organisations are considering helping primary care trusts meet prescribing and budgetary targets by bulk purchasing and dispensing of medicines pose a serious threat to the community pharmacy network, board members believe.

SOPs NPA staff have been working with the Society to consider templates for SOPs and, if these are allowed, then the NPA will consider producing for members a series of templates, each covering a discrete section of the dispensing process.