The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7217 p433
28 September 2002

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British Pharmaceutical Conference 2002 News

Common misconception about LPS

Local pharmaceutical services have not been explained properly, Dr Darrin Baines, director of MedM, told a fringe meeting held at the Conference on 24 September and sponsored by Merck Sharp & Dohme.

Having worked with local pharmaceutical committees and primary care trusts on LPS development over the past year, Dr Baines said that there is a common misconception that LPS is all about new services. The key issue is that not only does LPS offer new opportunities for pharmacies to integrate into mainstream primary care and become fully fledged National Health Service providers. More importantly, it offers pharmacies protection. Dr Baines said that the current failure of LPS is a sad reflection of the state of pharmacy leadership rather than simply an attempt by the Government to stifle reform at the first hurdle.

As for the future, he said: "I've got a strange feeling, with the next election coming up, that the Government will want to see pharmacies in every deprived area under the New Deal [regeneration schemes designed to tackle multiple deprivation at the neighbourhood level]. I think that this year, local pharmaceutical services may be pushed in the direction of deprived areas," he said.