Keep pharmacy's profile up, says MP
Sandra Gidley, pharmacist and Liberal Democrat spokeswoman on the elderly, has told the National Pharmaceutical Association to keep reminding her Parliamentary colleagues about the benefits of community pharmacy services.
Mrs Gidley, who is Member of Parliament for Romsey, told the NPA management
board last week that high profile lobbying after the Office of Fair Trading’s
call to remove pharmacy contract controls had left MPs in no doubt about
pharmacy’s value at the heart of local communities. The profession’s
profile was moving rapidly up the political agenda and had never been
higher. It was important not to lose the momentum and groundswell of
goodwill.
She urged the association to encourage its members to lobby their local
MPs to reinforce the case for retaining access to good local pharmacy
services. Personal contact was the best way.
Mrs Gidley also said that there was a clear opportunity and a pressing
need for community pharmacy to play a more proactive role in medication
reviews for people aged over 75 years, which the Department of Health
expects to be carried out annually. |
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