The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 273 No 7324 p699
6 November 2004

Society summary

Branch practices and problems shared

As the newly appointed secretary of one of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s branches, Nick Hale found the recent branch and regional secretaries’ meeting a valuable way of learning from experience in other branches

As a first-time attender at the branch and regional secretaries’ meeting at Lambeth on 13 October I was not sure what to expect. The position of branch secretary for Southampton had been thrust upon me and I had only accepted because support was available from a number of others within the branch. This “job share” seems to work well, with me as the main point of contact for members and the Society.

It was mainly out of a sense of duty to local members that I first decided to attend the branch and regional secretaries’ meeting. I had served on the branch committee for a number of years and so knew how our branch operates, but I did not know how other branches are run and what the Society expects from us.

What initially struck me was the size of the attendance. Although it was relatively easy for me to jump on a train for an hour’s trip from the south coast and a 20-minute walk from Waterloo, the number of branches represented from all over England, Scotland and Wales was impressive. A significant number of Society staff were also available to chat to during the day. Our professional body obviously deems the gathering worthwhile.

Best practice

The most inspiring part of the day for me was the section dubbed “Best practice in branches”, at which three branch secretaries presented what they have been doing locally, so passing on their “best practice” to all. The quality of the presentations was excellent.

Stirling and Central Scottish branch secretary Jonathan Burton informed us how he and his committee had decided no longer to organise meetings with clinical content. Instead their programme consists of meetings addressing professional and practice issues. Lectures on diabetes or asthma from local experts have been replaced by presentations on continuing professional development, Society issues, service development and models of practice. This, I think, was extremely brave. As any branch committee knows, a good clinical subject will draw an attendance of 50 or more whereas a meeting on local peer support would be lucky to attract 15. But is it right to duplicate the clinical lectures that can be accessed through the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education or other sources just to get bums on seats? Should the branches be offering more in the way of support for CPD, new pharmacy services and pharmacist prescribing? This may well be the way the branches will go as the profession changes over the next few years.

David Morgan from Clwyd impressed also with details of how he communicates with branch members. He keeps in contact with them through three newsletters a year and through the branch’s website.

John Gentle from Shropshire made an impassioned plea for branch members to make their e-mail addresses available wherever possible. This makes the role of the branch secretary so much easier and saves money for the branch.

Problems

The general feeling of those attending was that all branches suffer the same three major problems.

The first problem is how to engage the branch members. It is always the same people who attend branch meetings and it is usually around 10 per cent of the membership.

Second is how to keep in contact with the membership. Posting meeting details to members is expensive and time-consuming. The advent of e-mail and the internet helps with a proportion of the membership but there are still those who have no access to a computer.

The third problem is money. Branches still have to go cap in hand to pharmaceutical companies to be able to hire venues and provide food for their meetings.

It is comforting to know that one’s problems in running a branch are shared with others all around Britain. The branch and regional secretaries meeting provides an opportunity to hear how others are dealing with these problems and take their solutions back to one’s own branch. The meeting offers a great opportunity to network with colleagues and also to find out what is really happening at Lambeth.

I would like to congratulate the Society on a well organised event and also thank the membership team for the support they give to the branches. I look forward to the next meeting.