The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 271 No 7271 p564-565
18 October 2003

Society summary

Welsh Executive: A unique service for pharmacists in Wales

In our final article examining the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's activities on behalf of its members, the chairman of the Welsh Executive, Andrea Robinson, takes a look at what the Society delivers for its members in Wales. Previous articles considered activities in England and in Britain generally (PJ, 9 August, p187) and in Scotland (PJ, 6 September, 306)

The Society long ago recognised the unique role a Welsh department could play in supporting the profession nationally. This commitment — to celebrate national differences while meeting the specific challenges that devolution brings — is particularly evident in the Society’s modernisation plans.

The Welsh Executive meets four times a year. In addition, a strategic review day gives it the opportunity to determine where the key opportunities lie and where the Society’s influence in Wales is best served.

The executive has participated fully in the Society’s modernisation programme. The Society is proposing that the new Council will include reserved places for a pharmacist and a lay member from each of the home countries to reflect the different health policy agendas in England, Scotland and Wales. The executive is confident that Welsh affairs will be incorporated into the Society’s policymaking agenda, both now and in the future. In the meantime, the executive will move forward with its national programme of activity to ensure that pharmacists’ voices are heard and acknowledged in the political and professional arenas of pharmacy practice and development.

Influencing Government and NHS The pharmacy strategy for Wales, “Remedies for success: a strategy for pharmacy in Wales”, published in September 2002, set out a blueprint for pharmacy in Wales for the next 10 years. It was preceded by “Improving health in Wales”, a document announcing the reorganisation of the NHS in Wales with effect from April 2003.

The rapid pace of change in Wales is reflected in the high level of the Welsh Executive’s public affairs activity. Being based in Cardiff enables the Welsh Executive to exert optimum influence in the national political arena. This is also the reason for employing a public affairs company that has Welsh roots and expertise.

The executive has been working hard to exert the appropriate influence in the key areas of change. Regular meetings with both Assembly Members and officials go a long way to ensuring the voice of the profession in Wales is heard and accounted for within the Assembly. As this relationship has developed, so has our capacity for co-operative working. The executive is currently represented on a range of special working groups set up by the Assembly to develop and implement key areas of professional practice and development, including repeat dispensing and the treatment of minor ailments.

The Welsh Executive will continue to work to meet the challenges and opportunities afforded by devolution by continuing to represent the profession in the planning and implementation of these initiatives.

Key political briefings With the wealth of reorganisation and activity in Wales it is important to focus strategically on those areas that are key to the progression of pharmacy services in Wales. As part of its public affairs programme the executive has, over the past 12 months, produced a series of political briefing papers for Assembly Members including “Modernising hospital pharmacy in Wales: the need for automation” and “Modernising pharmacy in Wales: the need for original pack dispensing”. These briefings have been well received and further briefings are planned on the treatment of minor ailments and substance misuse.

Assembly elections To highlight key professional issues in the run up to the Assembly election in May, the executive launched its “Manifesto for Pharmacy in Wales”. The Society was joined by other professional health care organisations at a combined launch in March. New Assembly Members received a pack of briefing papers informing them how better use of pharmaceutical resources and expertise can benefit patients and the NHS. Further targeted briefings are being prepared for Ministers and Assembly Members. The manifestos for the four main political parties have included references to pharmacy — confirmation that our influence is making an impact where it counts.

Successes of the Welsh Executive Apart from working collaboratively with the Assembly on various working groups, the success of the Welsh Executive’s public affairs activity is apparent in the Assembly’s request that we co-ordinate a review of pharmacy provision of substance misuse services in Wales. The review is being carried out in conjunction with the Public Health Service and Community Pharmacy Wales. The review includes supervision of methadone and other substitution therapies, as well as needle exchange schemes.

The final report will be submitted to the Minister for Social Justice and Regeneration, Edwina Hart, through the Assembly’s Advisory Panel on Substance Misuse. The expectation is that this will lead to the development of uniform service standards and training across Wales.

Office of Fair Trading The Welsh Assembly Government’s announcement in July that it would not be deregulating community pharmacy in Wales was confirmation of its recognition of the value of pharmacy services in health care provision. Delivering the news, Jane Hutt said that she was, “determined to protect” pharmacies and highlighted that she recognised the “vital role” pharmacists play in particular in both rural and deprived areas in Wales.

Influencing best practice The Welsh Executive is in further collaboration with the Welsh Assembly Government on the progression of a “clinical governance maturity matrix” tool for community pharmacy. The National Assembly for Wales Pharmacy Practice Development Scheme is supporting its development and a special working group, representing pharmacists from a wide range of organisations in Wales, is being co-ordinated by the Welsh Executive.

The project aims to develop a “model” tool for community pharmacy that can be used by all local health boards in Wales to measure organisational development. The tool in question consists of an A4-sized grid, covering eight key areas of practice, to be used to chart progress through developmental stages for each given aspect.

Integrating into the wider NHS agenda: LHB pharmacists A major part of the NHS reorganisation in Wales has been the establishment of 22 local health boards from 1 April 2003. Five health authorities were replaced by the boards which cover the same boundaries as the local unitary authorities. To help brief pharmacists in this influential role, the Executive produced “Pharmacists’ contribution to primary care in Wales”, a brochure that outlines the valuable contribution pharmacists can make to health service provision in Wales. Given the document’s informative nature, it was also distributed to influencers in social services and NHS trusts.

Further support for the newly appointed LHB pharmacist board members included a meeting in September where LHB board pharmacists came together to discuss the challenges ahead and how they can most effectively be met.

Directly supporting pharmacists in Wales The advantage of having an office in Cardiff is its accessibility for members who want or need to meet with the Welsh Executive. We continue to encourage members to call in, or visit our offices, to discuss their agenda — or simply chat about professional issues.

From a more structured perspective, the 10 Society branches in Wales provide a local focus for professional activities. They hold regular meetings on a range of topics covering practice and political issues, science and continuing education. Branches also link with the Welsh Centre for Postgraduate Pharmaceutical Education on a range of educational activities.

The branch secretaries meet once a year with the secretary of the Welsh Executive executive to discuss the year’s activities. All branches receive regular briefings on Welsh affairs from the executive, as well as a regular newsletter and copies of the executive’s press releases. Each branch is also teamed with a member of the executive whom they can call at any time they have a query, or when they simply want to chat things through.

Pharmacy development groups Pharmacy development groups (PDGs) have been forming across Wales for some years. However, they are still relatively few and the executive is committed to supporting branches and local pharmacists to help with the formation of new PDGs. PDG Talk Net is the networking vehicle for all British pharmacists interested in setting up PDGs, and the executive is now working to establish a Wales group within PDG Talk Net to further improve communications.

Newsletter The Executive produces a regular newsletter to update members on the latest activity in Wales and to offer a Welsh pharmacy perspective. Further to our collaboration on PDG Talk Net, the executive has teamed up with Interlink — a newsletter containing up-to-date information on PDGs — to combine all this topical information and news in one central newsletter.

Annual reception In conjunction with different branches, the executive holds an annual reception attended by key national and local influencers. The executive sees this as an opportunity for branch members to network with opinion leaders in support of the national agenda. This year’s reception at Carmarthen was a huge success, building on the previous year’s event in Wrexham. Branch members were joined by local guests including chief executives and chairmen of the new LHBs and local NHS trusts, patient groups and representatives from local pharmacy development groups.

Website development The Welsh Executive website is being developed and managed from the Cardiff office to provide a valuable resource for pharmacists in Wales. The site will continue to be developed with further useful links and in-depth information on issues specific to Wales.

Public relations Where appropriate, the executive produces press releases to respond to national activity in Wales and to promote executive work. The past 12 months have also seen a concerted effort to raise the profile of the executive in the pharmacy media.

Conclusion
These are exciting times, with opportunities to achieve the Society’s vision for the profession. The executive will continue to strive to ensure not only that is the profession’s voice heard in Wales but that we play an increasingly active part in the health care arena.