PJ Online | PJ Letters: The Charter

Home > PJ (current issue) > Letters | Search

	The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 270 No 7247 p615 3 May 2003	This page Reprint Photocopy
		PDF* 75K

Letters

  The Charter
  Period-of-treatment fee
  Homoeopathy
  The Society

Letters to the Editor

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

The Charter

See new Charter and related links

Does the Society want a Scottish Department?

From Mr G. A. Largue, MRPharmS

The more I hear about the draft charter the more I believe that the Royal Pharmaceutical Society does not want a Scottish Department. For example, the current Charter states that the Society cannot sell York Place, Lambeth or Birdsgrove House without holding a special general meeting of the members for approval. The draft charter states that the Society shall have power to acquire, dispose of or mortgage any real or personal property; there is no mention of approval from the membership.

The current charter also states that there shall be a Scottish Department of the Society in Scotland constituted and governed in such manner and with such functions in Scotland as may be determined by byelaws. The draft charter only states that the Society shall have the power "by regulation to establish, dissolve and regulate any form of geographical or other subdivision of the Society".

Does this mean that the Scottish Department could be closed or downgraded, especially if the hierarchy does not agree with what is happening there? This cannot be allowed because, with the launch of "The right medicine", the Scottish pharmacy strategy, pharmacy in Scotland is changing at a different pace from that in England. Therefore we need our own representation locally, which understands our needs, to support us and lead us through this change in the way we work.

Furthermore, has the Society really thought about the times and venues of its Charter roadshow evening meetings? The closest one for me, and the only one being held in Scotland, is to be held in Perth — 131 miles from my home. The travelling time is estimated at three hours. This is an evening meeting and therefore I would need to take at least the afternoon off work and would not arrive home until the early hours of the following morning, since the meeting is not scheduled to finish until 9.30pm.

I am aware that Scotland has only about 10 per cent of the pharmacists registered in Britain, but it has an area of more than half the size of England. How can any of the pharmacists living in the north of Scotland be expected to attend this meeting?

I also know that there has been £25,000 extra funding to help branches organise meetings on the subject and the Moray and Banff branch has taken up this offer, but why should the membership in the more remote parts of the country not be allowed to have their views heard at every opportunity? A better idea would have been to hold two or three evening meetings around Scotland or one meeting on a Sunday afternoon perhaps; this way more of the Scottish membership would have a chance to attend the roadshow.

Gordon Largue
Keith, Banffshire

ANN LEWIS, Secretary and Registrar, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, states:

No change is contemplated to the existence of the Scottish Department. We fully recognise that, while regulation of the pharmacy profession has not been devolved, both the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly Government have health policy responsibilities and are developing their own strategies and priorities.

Discussions have taken place, and will continue, within Scotland, England and Wales on how devolution should be reflected in the Society of the future. One outcome is that the reformed Council should include at least one pharmacist and one lay member from each of England, Scotland and Wales. The pharmacist filling the reserved place for Scotland will be elected by members in Scotland.

The draft charter would allow for the perpetuation of the Society's Scottish and Welsh offices. It would allow the Society to recognise the devolved administrations in its ways of working and provide flexibility to accommodate any further changes in the future. The powers described in the draft would also allow for any transactions requiring the approval of a general meeting to be set out in regulations. Further work will be needed on how best to ensure that the different systems, strategies and priorities within the devolved administrations are reflected in the Society's work and inform its decision-making.

JEAN-PIERRE MOSER, head of public relations and membership, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, replies:

The "Fit for the future" roadshows are only one part of the overall communications plan that the Society has put in place to help provide background and receive comment on the plans for a new Royal Charter.

In organising 11 meetings between May and the end of July, the availability of suitable venues had to be taken into account, as did the diaries of those involved in producing and presenting at the roadshows.

Locations were chosen on the basis of those likely to be most accessible to the majority of pharmacists and the choice of Perth in Scotland was made in consultation with the Society's Scottish Department.

We were aware that some pharmacists might find it difficult to attend a "Fit for the future" roadshow meeting and therefore funding has been made available for branches to host more localised Charter meetings. To date over 30 branches have taken up this offer including, in Scotland, Moray and Banff, Edinburgh, Fife, Lanarkshire and Glasgow.

Send your letter to The Editor

Next Topic (Period-of-treatment fee)