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Letters to the Editor
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Registration
Criminal convictions
From Mr P. Walton, MRPharmS
Next year pharmacists will be required to give information about any
criminal conviction, details of which may be passed to the Statutory
Committee, when they register or pay the annual retention fee.
I would like to ask the Secretary and Registrar whether there have been
any cases where complaint has been made but not put before the Statutory
Committee because of European Court of Human Rights requirements, especially
with regard to time elapsed since the incident that gave rise to the
complaint. If this is the case, what are the implications for the profession?
I would also like to ask the Secretary and Registrar whether any thought
has been given to the consequences to pharmacists who may have to appear
before the Statutory Committee because they have been convicted on outdated
legislation that would now be considered repugnant.
Alan Turing, inventor of the digital computer, for instance, probably
committed suicide because he had to appear before the courts because
of his homosexual activity, even though he probably saved countless allied
lives in the war and his homosexuality was always known to the establishment.
It is likely that in a small profession such as pharmacy, respondents
may be personally known to those whom they are giving information to,
and any conviction similar to that of Mr Turing would potentially have
to be reinvestigated, causing a great deal of stress.
Thirdly, I would also like to ask whether giving the information on the
retention form is a request or a demand. And if it is a demand, what
action will be take against pharmacists who refuse to answer?
It appears that witch hunts,
such as were seen in the US in the McCarthy era, are alive and
kicking in the NHS establishment.
Philip Walton
Manchester
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal