The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 272 No 7297 p542
1 May 2004

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· Indemnity insurance
· CPD
· Drug nomenclature
· NHS pension scheme
· Ampoule labelling
· The profession
· Electronic prescribing
· Canvassing
· The Society

Letters to the Editor

The profession

Pharmacists should provide services on a private basis

From Dr T. J. Benson, MRPharmS

Having observed how dentists have given up hope of ever getting a fair pay deal for NHS work with the result that many now will only accept patients on a private basis, why should pharmacists not do the same, both in hospital and community? A modest standard of living can only be attained by practically working yourself into the ground — not good for patient safety, family life and mental health. Providing pharmaceutical services on a private basis (ie, the user pays for services rendered) would dramatically cut drug wastage and over-prescribing. In addition, workloads would decrease since unnecessary drug issues would be almost eliminated (we have all dispensed prescriptions for 20 paracetamol, 50ml simple linctus — the list could go on forever.) It would follow that we would fix the profit margins so they would increase to normally acceptable business levels, and perhaps we could go home at night without worrying whether the next monthly payment for NHS work done will be sufficient to pay the wholesaler bills.

I am heartily disgusted with the way the NHS treats us as a profession. We are still considered to be the handmaidens of the doctors, content and eager to take the scraps they find to be tiresome, such as blood glucose monitoring, for free! We are the experts on all aspects of drugs — design, synthesis, therapeutic usage, correct dosage and formulation.

In addition, if pharmacy is outside the NHS it is much less under the control of central Government and that means the Royal Pharmaceutical Society should act less like a government puppy dog and get on with furthering the interests of pharmacy and its members. Happy members means a better served general public.

T. J. Benson
London W1

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