The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 275 No 7376 p645
19 November 2005

Society summary

Scottish pharmacy agenda leads the field, new pharmacists hear at registration ceremony

Scotland's national agenda for pharmacy was praised by the President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Hemant Patel, when he addressed a registration ceremony for new members at the Society's house in Edinburgh on 9 November.

Welcoming 29 newly registered pharmacists, Mr Patel said that if he were a new entrant to the profession he would definitely want to practise in Scotland, the UK country that continues to lead the field in pharmaceutical health agendas.

Mr Patel said that it was vital for young, ambitious, highly qualified pharmacists to concentrate their efforts on developing their clinical and social skills so that they could assist in taking the profession beyond the traditional role of medicines supply. He congratulated the new pharmacists on completing a long and challenging course and emphasised that their future overriding concerns must now be the welfare of patients.

The President explained that, as members of the Society, pharmacists were recognised as professionals and sometimes had to take difficult decisions for which there were no clear cut answers. In joining the profession the new pharmacists would become part of a fellowship and, as with most things in life, they would gain from it in proportion to the contribution they made.

As guests looked on, each of the new pharmacists was presented with a certificate to mark the occasion by Angela Timoney, chairman of the Society’s Scottish Executive.

Ms Timoney said that the demands on the profession in Scotland had changed in recent years. Many patients, particularly young people, had higher expectations of health care delivery and were more demanding and sceptical about the use of some medicines. A more passive, ageing, older generation was growing in numbers and the treatment of chronic conditions would become increasingly important. In addition, medicines were becoming highly complex and required skilled application. In the future there would be multiple care providers and patients would be more involved in decision-making, having an enhanced ability to interpret health care options.

Edinburgh’s annual registration ceremony is the only one in Britain following the discontinuation of ceremonies at the Society’s London headquarters.