President tells Minister of concerns over morale
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society's President, Marshall
Davies, and its Secretary and Registrar, Ann Lewis, raised the issue of
pharmacists' morale at a meeting with the Parliamentary Under Secretary
for Health, Hazel Blears, on 12 December.
The President drew the Minister's attention to concerns
expressed at the Council's December meeting during debate on a motion
proposed by Council member Peter Curphey (see p871). The President said
before the meeting that he intended to emphasise to the Minister how sections
of the profession felt demotivated and stressed by the current pressures
and uncertainties.
"As a professional body, our role is to provide
leadership and help pharmacists take up the challenges that will develop
the profession in the public interest. We are concerned that the current
climate for community pharmacy could inhibit progress towards goals that
are shared both by the profession and the Government.
"All pharmacists have a huge contribution to make
to the future of health care and it is important that they are not demotivated
but positively incentivised to get involved."
The President added: "Increasing workloads and decreasing
income could adversely affect pharmacists' capacity to deliver safe, high
quality, innovative services. There is also concern that continual unremitting
stress would have a damaging effect on pharmacists' health."
The meeting with the Minister also addressed the
issues of how provision will be made for strategic pharmaceutical advice
within local National Health Service frameworks, the extension of prescribing
rights and the modernisation of the regulation of health professionals.
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