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Letters to the Editor
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Overseas pharmacists
Fee explanation not good enough
From Mr R. M. Rye, MRPharmS
You recently published two letters from retired,
non-practising, overseas pharmacists who asked why, unlike their retired colleagues in the UK,
they were being asked to pay the same retention fee as practising overseas
pharmacists (PJ, January 21, p74). In reply, Philip Green, deputy secretary
and registrar, skilfully avoided answering their question, preferring
instead to concentrate on the difficulties encountered in establishing
an appropriate fee structure for practising overseas pharmacists. Nowhere
does he even attempt to explain why the practising fee should be applied
to non-practising overseas members.
At the August
Council meeting (PJ, 13 August 2005, p199) it was decided
that the normal fee for non-practising pharmacists would rise from £45
to £60, and that the proposed overseas fee of £106 would
apply only to practising members. However, two months later (PJ, 22 October
2005, p529) the Society inexplicably reversed its decision, stating that “the £106
fee also applies to overseas pharmacists who do not practise in any jurisdiction”.
Why did the Society alter its policy and introduce this discriminatory
requirement for overseas, non-practising members (by my calculation numbering
around 1,500)? Our retention fee is now almost double that of our UK
colleagues. Where is the justice in this?
Ronald M. Rye
Alicante, Spain
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PHILIP GREEN, deputy secretary and registrar, replies:
The
retention fee of £106 for overseas pharmacists, whether practising
or non-practising, was agreed upon by the Society’s Council at
its meeting in August 2005. The fee is payable by members who are registered
with a local pharmacy
regulator and who are not required to be registered by the Society in
order to practise overseas or by a non-practising pharmacist resident
overseas. Pharmacists who are required to be registered with the Society
in order to practise overseas or who wish to maintain their right to
practise in Britain must pay the full practising fee of £267 and
undertake CPD.
It was made clear in the report of the Council meeting that the fees
for overseas pharmacists, whatever their status, would cover the full
costs to the Society
for administration and airmailing the PJ. There has been no change in policy
on this. However, neither the report of the August Council meeting nor the
official notice of the proposed revised fees made the position of
overseas non-practising
pharmacists explicit, although it could be deduced from the fact that the
proposed reduced fee for non-practising pharmacists was restricted
to those in England,
Scotland and Wales. At the October Council meeting, when the fees were finalised
for forwarding to Privy Council, the Council agreed to clarify and make explicit
that the £106 fee applied to overseas pharmacist who do not practise
in any jurisdiction.
In practical terms, the cost to the Society of administration and airmailing
the PJ to overseas members is the same, whether they are non-practising or
practising and registered locally. This is the reason for there being no
difference in fee. |
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal