Over 1,000 call for Charter referendum
Hassan Argomandkhah (centre), with a copy of responses sent by fax
to his petition, and (from left) Council Members Nicholas Wood, Martin
Astbury, Noel Wicks, Douglas Simpson and Sultan Dajani |
Over 1,000 pharmacists have supported a petition calling on the Royal Pharmaceutical Society to hold a referendum on its proposed new Royal Charter. Their call has been rejected by the Society’s Council.
The petition was organised
by Hassan Argomandkhah on behalf of the Save
Our Society campaign (PJ, 25 October, p570). Speaking at a press briefing
immediately before the December meeting of the Society’s Council,
at which the revised draft new Charter was discussed, Mr Argomandkhah
called on the Council to delay making a final decision. It should “allow
an appropriate period for reflection among both Council and the membership,
and seek alternative independent legal advice. Only then can it seek
members’ approval through a referendum before submitting any documents
to the Privy Council,” he said.
Mr Argomandkhah said that pharmacists had sent messages supporting his
call for a referendum by letter, fax, e-mail or text. He received 620
printed responses, 412 e-mails and 64 text messages in total. Copies
of these were handed to the Society on 2 December.
Mr Argomandkhah was supported by six members of the Society’s Council:
Martin Astbury, Sultan Dajani, Hemant Patel, Douglas Simpson, Noel Wicks
and Nicholas Wood. Asked how many pharmacists might vote if a referendum
were held, Mr Wood suggested that turnout might be similar to those in
recent Council elections, which have averaged around 20 per cent in recent
years. He understood that the annual cost of holding the Council election
is around £25,000, but this was cheaper than the special general
meeting held in June.
A motion asking for a ballot of members of the Society seeking their
approval for the proposals incorporated in the new Charter was lost at
the Society’s Council meeting on 2 December. The Council agreed
to petition the Privy Council for a new Charter.
Full details in next week’s Council report. |
