New health Act in Scotland will transform pharmacy
Pharmacy is one part of health care that is to be transformed in Scotland following the passing of a new health Bill.
The Scottish Parliament voted in favour of the Smoking, Health and Social
Care (Scotland) Bill on 30 June. Its enactment means that NHS boards
will have greater powers in determining local health services and it
lays the foundations for the new community pharmacy contract. The Bill
will also result in all dental and eye checks to be made free of charge
by 2007.
“NHS boards will now be able to provide pharmacy and dental services
based on what patients need, and pharmacists will have a greater role
in providing
new services,” said health minister Andy Kerr. “This Bill
will bring wide and varied benefits to both staff and patients in Scotland
and I am delighted that the Scottish Parliament has voted that it become
law.”
The Bill made headlines in Scotland for
its impact on smoking: from March 2006, smoking will be banned in enclosed
public places. However, the smoking legislation forms only one part of
the six-part Bill, with part 3 dedicated to pharmaceutical care services
and part 4 on discipline in the NHS.
David Thomson, Royal Pharmaceutical Society Council member for Scotland,
said the Bill is good news for pharmacists. “The magnitude of the
Bill is considerable. The bottom line is that it positions community
pharmacy to take full advantage of the opportunities in the modernised
NHS in Scotland,” he explained.
“The Bill builds on the expectations in ‘The Right Medicine’.
It will make the practice of pharmacy different in Scotland compared
with the rest of the UK. In terms of devolution, if we are given the
resources to capitalise on this opportunity, then we have the potential
to radically change pharmacy practice in the whole of Great Britain.”
Mr Thomson highlighted the idea of principal and non-principal pharmacists
as a new approach introduced by the Bill. It will mean that locums have
to register with a health board in order to work in a pharmacy in its
area. Mr Thomson added that the Bill also deals with the Office of Fair
Trading’s position on control of entry. Allowing health boards
to plan pharmaceutical care services provides transparency, he explained.
The Scottish Pharmaceutical General Council welcomed the Bill since it
puts in place the necessary legislation to underpin the new contract.
A spokesman pointed out that there is still some work to be done on the
full regulations and that the SPGC looks forward to working with the
Scottish Executive on these regulations over the next few months. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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