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Letters to the Editor
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National boards
Concerns
From Mr S. Wheatley, MRPharmS
As we participate in the consultation concerning the proposal for Royal
Pharmaceutical Society national boards for England, Scotland and Wales,
we should be careful to ask ourselves some fundamental questions.
The pharmacy strategies for the three countries, as outlined in “Pharmacy
in the future”, “The right medicine” and “Remedies
for success”, describe only minor variations in the ways in which
pharmacy services will be delivered. There are no basic differences apparent
and, particularly, none relating to the core function of supply in the
community pharmacy setting. In the main, prescriptions will be produced,
medicines dispensed and patients advised in the time-honoured way. Any
small differences between the pharmacy strategies for the three countries
can continue to be easily addressed by the current mechanisms, the Lambeth
machine and the Scottish and Welsh Executives. There can be no justification
to add to the bureaucracy that already exists.
There are two areas of major concern:
1. By its own admission, the consultation document concedes that it is
likely, even inevitable, that there will be cost implications deriving
from the restructuring and provision of additional functionality in Edinburgh,
Cardiff and London. Any costs involved should be self-funding and, above
all, must not cascade down to the members through retention fee increases.
I agree that “clearly any solution will need to be affordable”.
2. Why is there only one option on offer — the conclusion arrived
at in the Fraser report? Have other simpler, less costly, alternatives
been considered? It is tempting to conclude that it is a “done
deal” and that we are presented with a solution looking for a problem.
So, in principle for the reasons outlined above, I am unable to support
the establishment of national boards for England, Scotland and Wales
or any of the three countries.
Stan Wheatley
Blandford Forum, Dorset
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal