PJ Online | PJ Letters: APPG

Home > PJ (current issue) > Letters | Search

	The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 270 No 7238 p302-303 1 March 2003	This page Reprint Photocopy
		PDF* 90K

Letters

  OFT report
  Corporate pharmacy
  Supermarket pharmacy
  CPD
  Chloroform water
  Antipsychotics
  Advertising
  Pharmacist prescribing
  Dentistry
  APPG
  The Register
  Dispensing
  The Profession
  Leadership
  The Council
  The Society

Letters to the Editor

* PDF files on PJ Online require Acrobat Reader 4 or later.

APPG

Where was the Society?

From Mr P. J. McGorry, MRPharmS

I was one of the lucky pharmacists present at the All-Party Pharmacy Group meeting on the Office of Fair Trading report at Westminster on 10 February. I was relieved to see so much interest from the MPs who attended and especially from the minister David Lammy.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, the National Pharmaceutical Association and others gave good accounts of themselves, as did a local colleague who put forward the little heard primary care trust point of view. One of the highlights of the meeting was the eloquent view provided by the British Medical Association. The BMA was highly supportive and positive about the place pharmacy has in delivering the extended role and working with general practitioners to meet targets.

However there was one group notable for its silence: the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Several members of the Council were present, some even spoke, but no one put forward a common Society statement or view. This is a major missed opportunity. The Society actively fought to oppose the abolition of resale price maintenance but seems worryingly silent on this issue.

It is a sad day for the profession when the BMA is more supportive of pharmacy in front of Government ministers than the Society is.

Paul McGorry
Hull

BEVERLEY PARKIN, director of public affairs, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, replies:

I do not share Mr McGorry's view that the meeting was "a major missed opportunity". On the contrary, I think that the meeting was both timely and a successful means of sending highly constructive messages about the importance of community pharmacies — including vital third party endorsement — to ministers and parliamentarians.

The Society's Vice-President, Dr Gillian Hawksworth, spoke at the All-Party Pharmacy Group meeting pointing out a concern that had not been raised by others, namely the potential impact of the report on the pharmacy workforce.

The Society has not been silent on the issue of the Office of Fair Trading report. On the day of its publication, the President wrote to the Minister, David Lammy, outlining a number of concerns. These concerns were reported in the press, as was the subsequent meeting between the Society and the Minister to discuss them. The Society is now working on its detailed response to the report

Send your letter to The Editor

Previous Topic (Dentistry)
Next Topic (The Register)