The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 275 No 7357 p47
9 July 2005

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· Drug administration
· National boards
· Controlled drugs
· The Society
· Supermarket pharmacy (2)
· Birdsgrove House (2)
· New pharmacy contract (2)
· Prescribing
· Education

Letters to the Editor

New pharmacy contract

Proposed changes in oxygen contract

From Mr P. Smith, MRPharmS

Referring to the new oxygen contract, I am surprised that nobody has carried the question one step further and enquired whether the new contractors can meet demand. I predict that, in many areas, the new contractors do not stand a chance of providing an adequate service. I think they will be forced to ask present contractors to act as “agents” or “sub-contractors”.

This could be a golden opportunity to ensure a profitable return on this service if contractors can stick together and not start trying to undercut one another. It will require a firm nerve because somewhere along the way there are going to be some serious incidents, or even deaths, as a result of this. I hope that the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee et al have got their PR in place to ensure that it is not pharmacy that gets the blame for this fiasco.

Paul Smith
Louth, Lincolnshire

Locums increasing their own marketability

From Dr B. Curwain, MRPharmS

Your article (PJ, 18 June, p754) suggesting that locums can use the new contract to increase their own marketability was useful. Wise locums will be seeking to access training to enable them to deliver all types of services under the new contract. They need to be in dialogue with any of their regular employers about future plans and requirements.

Primary care trusts in England should not ignore the locum population as it is in their interest to have a pool of suitably skilled and trained community pharmacy locums working in their area. Obviously PCTs will have lists of their contractors but it is relatively simple to develop a list of locums working in their area, preferably with their e-mail addresses. This process is much simpler if locums are prepared to contact the PCT (try the medicines management team or equivalent in the first place) since a PCT cannot simply rely on the home addresses of registered pharmacists to determine who actually works in their area.

If PCTs have, and maintain, a list of locums, they can be sent prescribing newsletters, drug alerts, urgent news items, details of PCT training and educational events, and generally feel more in touch with what is going on locally. PCTs use e-mail to communicate information wherever possible and if a locum does not have an e-mail address maybe they should consider getting one.

Brian Curwain
Chief Pharmacist,
New Forest PCT

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