Ministers fete pharmacy at Labour conference
Government ministers have spoken up for pharmacy at a range of fringe meetings at the Labour Party conference in Brighton this week.
Secretary of State for Health John Reid said at a meeting on choice in
public services: “Why should people not be able to go into a pharmacy
to get advice if they want to?” Dr Reid’s comment was part
of a wide ranging response to a conference participant who believed that
people should all have access to the same services, rather than a range
of services from which to choose.
At another fringe meeting, Health Minister John Hutton was prompted by
Brighton pharmacist Martin Mandelbaum to say: “Pharmacists should
have a much greater role in the NHS. I hope the new contract will be
a success and that contractors will go
for it.
“Pharmacists are educated to degree level and their skills should
be used more widely. Pharmacists can help the NHS save money and provide
better
services to patients.”
Elsewhere, Melanie Johnson, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for
Public Health, said that pharmacy-based minor ailments schemes were an
exemplar of how pharmacists could make a difference, particularly in
deprived areas.
Local pharmacists have been attending conference fringe meetings in order
to promote the profession.
Dominic Osman-Allu, a pharmacist member of Brighton and Hove City Teaching
Primary Care Trust’s professional executive committee, said: “We’ve
raised the profile of the profession more than having a stand with people
wandering by. Ministers that I’ve spoken to have been quite responsive.” |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader