Vote “yes”!
Now that the final version of the draft new Charter for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society has been published and the full details of the amendments can be seen for the first time, there can be no doubt that the membership is at its heart. It goes far further than the December 2003 version in protecting the interests of pharmacists and it could be argued that the membership has more power than it does even under the current Charter of 1953. It might, in time, become known affectionately (or otherwise) as the Members' Charter.
But members should not run away with the idea that, as a result of the
hard work put in by the Council and Society staff at the end of last
month, the Society can act on behalf of individual pharmacists. The Society
will not — under this Charter — become a representative body
like the British Medical Association. It remains the regulator and professional
body. This is clarified throughout the Charter, where representation
of the profession is described, less confusingly, in terms of the Society
giving professional leadership.
Provided this Charter receives a “yes” vote in the ballot,
the President is content that the work of the Save Our Society campaign
is over (p80). However, not all those Council members who ran on the
SOS ticket agree. They believe that there are still important membership
issues to consider, not least the form the supporting structures will
take for the new style Council when it comes into being — most
likely in shadow form in the first instance — as soon as next May
(p73). And there is much work to be done to enable the new Council (assuming
that the Charter clears the hurdle of the ballot in the next five weeks)
to exist at all. How everything will work will become clearer in the
months to come.
Members of the Society may be wondering what long-term price the Council
has had to pay in order to accommodate the SOS campaign representatives
and their wishes. It will not be until the new Charter has been up and
running, and future Councils find that they have to make tricky decisions
which the members may not like, that the price will become evident. At
first glance, this Charter has far more checks and balances in place
than the December version and the Privy Council will play a larger role
in Council decision-making than envisaged in that version. But any loss
of autonomy is not likely to cause any difficulties in the foreseeable
future and many pharmacists will see those checks and balances as a benefit
to the membership, not as interference.
So, do vote “yes” – it will unify the profession and
help the outside world believe that pharmacy is back on track. If a significant
proportion of the membership does return their ballot papers it will
be an indication that those who believed themselves disenfranchised over
the past two years consider themselves part of the family, once more.
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