The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7199 p739-746
25 May 2002

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161st Annual General Meeting summary

Pharmacy "living in a state of revolution"

It would not be an overstatement to say the pharmacists were living in a state of permanent revolution, the President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Marshall Davis, told the Society's annual general meeting on 15 May when he presented the annual review of the Council for 2001.

The President said: "For those of us who work in health care, it seems that nothing is stable. The very framework of the NHS has undergone radical change. The public's expectation of health professions grows apace. The Government has a clear view of how it wants to secure professional accountability. Our working relationships with other professionals are evolving into something quite new."

Highlighting some of the key issues and factors influencing the Society's work in 2001, the President said that no issue was of such long-term significance for the health professions as the need to review and reform professional regulation to meet new requirements of accountability. In October, the Council had set a budget to meet the costs of a far-reaching programme to ensure that the Society could match the best principles of modern regulation. Every other health professional regulator had engaged upon similar work. He was baffled by those who suggested that this work was somehow detrimental to the interests of the members: "Membership of the Society confers the privilege of being able to practise pharmacy. To secure the continued confidence of the public in the profession, we need to be in a position to demonstrate that members are competent and fit to practise."

The Society had consulted on proposals to reform the profession's disciplinary machinery and to allow the introduction of procedures to require continuing professional development (CPD). An extended range of disciplinary sanctions was also proposed, including powers to impose interim directions, suspension from the register or conditional registration. Those proposals were now with the Department of Health and would form the basis of Government consultation on legislation to revise the Society's disciplinary processes.

The President then announced that the Council, having considered the responses to the discussion paper on the way forward, had now set the direction of travel for the future, with the Society retaining both regulatory and professional roles (see p739).

Commenting on the pilot work in preparation for a national CPD framework for pharmacy, the President said that he was delighted to announce that Dr Peter Wilson, until recently director of the CPPE, was to join the Society's CPD implementation team, with particular input on communication and high-level policy issues (see p747).

On the regulation of pharmacy support staff, the President said that the Society had begun the work to take forward its policy of mandatory regulation. Issues to be considered would include which categories of support staff the policy should apply to and how regulation might work in practice.

The President commented on the Society's work with the new bodies established as part of the modernisation of the NHS and with the health departments for England, Scotland and Wales. During 2001 the Society had developed standards and guidance to support pharmacists in delivering new services, had approved a strategy for its future investment in research, had initiated further debate on supervision and had reviewed its branch and regional network to help pharmacists meet future challenges locally.

In the run-up to the availability of emergency hormonal contraception as a pharmacy medicine, the Society had worked with an expert group to ensure that pharmacists were well supported with professional standards, practice guidance and training. The failure of challenges to pharmacy EHC in Parliament and the courts was a vote of confidence in the professionalism of the pharmacists in providing this valuable service.

On policy matters, the President said that in December 2001 the Council had announced its position on direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines. While supporting the increased provision of balanced information to the public the Council agreed that such advertising is unlikely to be the best way of providing it. The Society had also contributed to external policy developments, notably the Audit Commission's report on medicines management in hospitals, "A spoonful of sugar". It was now working to support the implementation of its key recommendations.

The President outlined ways in which the Society had continued to develop its working relationships with other health bodies, Government, opinion formers, members of Parliament, the media and the public.

On the Society's museum, the President said that, in taking its decision to reduce expenditure as part of a focus on urgent new priorities, the Council was aware of the concerns but was able to agree a way forward that meant that the museum would remain formally constituted, retain registered status and continue to ensure the long-term care of the historical collections and their educational use.

Discussing science matters. the President said that, following the constitution of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences as a separate legal entity, the Society and the academy would work closely on science-related matters and the academy would continue to support the development of the science content of the British Pharmaceutical Conference.

The President said that the Council had been delighted to see the continued success of the Society's publishing operation. During 2001, work was finished on the 33rd edition of Martindale — the first edition available in both print and electronic formats.

MARK KOZIOL (Birmingham) said that the Society was putting much effort into its modernisation programme and looking at the regulatory mechanisms. However, it had another important role. One of its chartered objects was to promote the interests of the members in their exercise of the profession of pharmacy. Could the members rest assured that their interests would be looked after in the modernisation programme? An important role of the Society was to represent the interests of the members.

The PRESIDENT replied that the Society had a clear mandate to represent the interests of members. What it was looking for was a sustainable profession in which members had a rewarding professional career. It represented the interests of pharmacists in terms of the public benefits that pharmacists provided for the public in the future. But it could not take a self-interested position of members in conflict with that public interest.

Asked whether there would be consultation with community pharmacists on supervision in community pharmacy, the President said that there would be discussion involving all pharmacists.

JOHN E. BALMFORD (Chipping Campden) said that Society's museum had been treated disgustingly. Expenditure on museum activity had been reduced by two-thirds, but nowhere could one see the actual figures. Even as an honorary auditor of the Society he did not know the figures.

The TREASURER said that the word "disgusting" was not fair. The Society had had to set priorities and had achieved a saving of £100,000 on the museum, which had involved staff redundancies in that department. Museum activity had been reduced slightly but it was still available for members to use and exhibits would remain in the foyer.

There being no further questions, the President moved the adoption of the annual review, which was carried.