Members likely to support Charter
Substantial support for the draft new Royal Charter for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society can be expected if a meeting held to consider the matter shows the trend.
Participants in the meeting, organised by Council member Graham Phillips,
voted by 20 to 1 in favour of the draft.
Rob Darracott, the Society’s director of corporate and strategic
development, said that it was not known what would happen if the members
voted to reject the draft Charter. But it was likely that the Government
would write more rules into its Health Act Section 60 Order than would
otherwise have been the case. This could include setting the composition
of the Society’s Council in the Section 60 Order, rather than through
the Charter, as at present.
Mr Phillips, who is a leading proponent of the Save Our Society campaign,
said that failure of a substantial majority of Society members to support
the Charter changes would leave the Society in a real mess. The profession
would survive even if members voted against the draft Charter but it
would take a long time for the Society to dig itself out of the resulting
hole. “If members vote no and we don’t like the resulting
Section 60 Order, then we would tell the Government to take regulatory
responsibility away from the Society,” Mr Phillips said.
Privy Council consultation The Privy Council could hold a further
consultation on the new draft Charter. A spokesman told The
Journal this week that a decision over the need for a further consultation
would not be made until after it receives the amendments on the previously
submitted Charter from the Society. If it deems the amendments to
be small then there would be no need for further consultation because
it would duplicate work already undertaken. But if the changes are
significant then the Privy Council reserves the right to hold a consultation.
Responses to the previous consultation will still be considered.
|
|
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader