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Letters to the Editor
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The profession
Independent Pharmacy Federation launch
From Mr N. Baumber, FRPharmS
It is too soon to regard as a “launch”, the meeting in Milton
Keynes last week of interested contractors, wholesalers and invited organisations
held to find a consensus for the initial aims and objectives of the Independent Pharmacy Federation that might represent the views of the independent
sector as a whole. (PJ, 8 October , p432)
“Sustaining health care delivery through independent community
pharmacy” is
our avowed mission statement. I have already addressed the regional representatives
on the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and found them very
supportive of our efforts to provide them with a resource to consult,
to join as individuals, or to commission, in their work for independent
contractors.
I see the Independent Pharmacy Federation as the way forward in which
pharmacists from all over the sector can come together to find a voice
that is not stifled or silenced by the vested interests on existing bodies.
In so far as the NHS contract is concerned, our channel for representation
is through the regional representatives on PSNC and that will continue,
but they are busy people having to communicate within large regions,
stay in touch with local and national developments on top of running
their own businesses. Elected as individuals, regional representatives
have had no effective forum for discussion and analysis; they have no
particular political mandate, little information to work with and consequently
no consolidated aims and objectives to press into action.
This contrasts starkly with the role played by the Company Chemists’ Association
which has a central role in providing information to PSNC and maintains
a firm grasp on the handle of policy. The CCA has become a well resourced
force acting on a daily basis to influence outcomes the length and breadth
of the country. It makes separate and considered representations to Government
and its website claims to provide access to 70 per cent of community
pharmacy through its 2006 trade show. It is not a benevolent institution
but an arm of globalisation, furthering international ownership and the
dependence of professionalism on the success of commercialism.
We are facing the challenge of enormous operational change in the primary
care sector, but we are not seeing the redirection of funds into pharmacy
to match the effort that I know independents put into caring and cognitive
services and will be expected to expand. A federation should be about
listening to pharmacy owners, reflecting their experience of the new
pharmacy contract, addressing their problems and providing an alternative
source of information.
Following the meeting, the draft aims of IPF are currently four-fold:
· To provide a formal, representative and powerful voice for independent
pharmacy, able to influence effectively the highest levels of healthcare
politics, communicate with all other stakeholders and to have measurable
outcomes
· To promote such policies as will ensure the right rewards and recognition
for the independent sector
· To promote the benefits of independent ownership to all stakeholders
· To support and enhance the contribution of independent pharmacy representatives
on existing national bodies
The acid test will be whether independents are prepared to support the
attempt to build better representation of their interests with funds
and membership.
Noel Baumber
Grantham,
Lincolnshire
A bright future for independent pharmacists
From Mr G. S. Phillips, MRPharmS
I am disappointed to note the negative
reactions of the chief executives
of both the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and the National
Pharmacy Association (PJ, 8 October, p432) to the formation of a body
to represent the specific interests of pharmacist-owned pharmacies.
For those who question the need for such an organisation, I would argue
that the facts speak for themselves. The independent sector is in decline.
In 1991 “independents” owned two thirds of all pharmacies
but this is projected to drop to only one third by 2011, unless something
both urgent and effective is done to arrest the haemorrhage. However,
I would like to reassure colleagues that there is no implied criticism
here of any of the national pharmacy bodies, nor of my independent colleagues
who sit on them.
That said, there is a profound difference between the
well-resourced and carefully
co-ordinated deliberations of the Company Chemists’ Association
representatives, in pursuing their interests, and the rest. Indeed, the
fact that it was considered necessary to form a specific grouping to
represent the interests of independent multiples (The Association of
Independent Multiple Pharmacies [AIMp]) only highlights the need for
the single independents and smaller groups also to “get their act
together” or face oblivion. By way of contrast to my opening remarks,the
AIMp has been embraced, not resisted, by both the NPA and PSNC.
Personally I am optimistic for the future. The new community pharmacy
contract, which places increasing emphasis upon clinical skills, local
relationships and professional accessibility, should be good for the
independent sector. Yet there are significant challenges to overcome
and the independents will need to be better prepared and much more organised
if they are to lobby effectively for change. We also need to question
where the next generation of independent pharmacy owners will come from,
unless we encourage today’s young pharmacists to consider this
as a career option. These are just two examples of where a federation
of, and for, independents will prove invaluable.
In closing I ask one simple question: “Where would you go today if you
wanted to canvass the views of the independent sector?”
Graham Phillips
St Albans, Hertfordshire
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal