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Letters to the Editor
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Media scrutiny
Once again, the pharmacist takes the flak
From Mr J. Blake, MRPharmS
I was disappointed, once again, to see community pharmacy coming the
critical scrutiny of the media, this time BBC Points West (a local TV
News channel serving the Bristol area). Several months ago they highlighted
various dispensing errors (even encouraging viewers to contact them with
any errors) in a number of Lloyds pharmacies in Bristol and South Gloucestershire.
Again another incident has brought the media to seek a scapegoat for
this regrettable event. While we have all been aware of dispensing errors
in the past and with a tendency for the public to follow the American
ideology of claiming against “anybody for an infringement of their
well-being”, we know that we have to be even more vigilant to face
the public, consumer organisations and the media than ever before.
However I have to comment on the remarks made by Andy Murdock (pharmacy
superintendent for Lloydspharmacy) when interviewed by BBC Points West.
While offering apologies to the patient involved he was quick to point
out that Lloyds pharmacists in the Bristol area would be undergoing “some
retraining” to comply with their company protocols.
It seems that once again it is the pharmacist who takes the flak for
these dispensing errors but, in all fairness, we know that it is the
duty of the pharmacist to be legally responsible for the supply of the
correct and appropriate medication for each patient. Having spent a number
of years working as a locum pharmacist for the Lloyds company in the
area in question I have always considered that the situation there was
like a time-bomb waiting to be detonated.
Unless the pharmacists attempt to take over at least some control of
their working environment, these dispensing errors, with ever more pressure
on prescription numbers, will surely increase. Now is the time for a “new
charter” for these company-employed pharmacists. I suggest a few
ideas for such a charter:
· 200 items should be the most any pharmacist dispenses during a normal
working day, if no technician is available
· Any other help in the dispensary should be in the form of a qualified
or experienced technician — not some assistant dragged off the
counter who is more interested in trying to keep down the mountain of
company paperwork
· Additional pharmaceutical services required, such as cholesterol testing
and smoking cessation, should see a comparative fall in daily prescription
numbers attempted
· There should be proper meal breaks taken away from the shop floor
· There should be a general boycott of all generic packs that appear
to be similar in logo, colour or size to other packs of different medications
or strengths
Only if pharmacists manage to unite in their efforts to gain a reasonable
working environment for themselves, instead of the present degrading
treadmill of dispensing vast numbers of prescriptions per day, will we
ever see any improvement in the situation. Perhaps one day, we might
see a sign at the dispensary bench: “I am a professional pharmacist — consult
me — I have the time for you.”
John Blake
Malaga, Spain
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ANDY MURDOCK, pharmacy superintendent, Lloydspharmacy, responds:
As
a community pharmacy we welcome regular dialogue with all our pharmacists,
including our locums, so that we can fully understand the issues
they face on a day-to-day,
region-by-region basis. I hope
that the pharmacist in this instance will consider contacting me directly
so that we can talk through the important points he makes.
As mentioned on BBC Points West, we are working closely with the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society to undertake an independent audit on our pharmacies in the Bristol
area. This will enable us to review our procedures and make changes should
any be appropriate. |
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal