The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7392 p321
18 March 2006

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· SOPs (3)
· Professional regulation
· New pharmacy contract
· Oxygen services
· Compliance aids (2)
· The profession (2)
· Workbreaks
· Boots/UniChem merger
· The Society (2)
· HealthWatch

Letters to the Editor

The profession

Punishment should fit the crime

From Ms H. Knipe, RegPharmTech

I am writing with reference to Amit Matalia’s letter (PJ, 25 February, p233). I am a registered technician with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and while I appreciate that the subject of criminal convictions is quite an emotive one, I do believe that any criminal record brings the profession (and therefore the Society) into disrepute. If I were to be charged for drink driving, grievous bodily harm, robbery or a similar serious offence then I would expect to be struck off the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Register.

I do, however, believe that the punishment should fit the crime. For example, if a pharmacist (or registered technician) is charged for driving at 34 mph in a 30 mph zone (and this is a first offence), striking that person off the Register is harsh, to say the least. There needs to be some way of differentiating between crimes, so that the Society does not exclude most of its members for speeding, parking tickets and such like. I realise that this is not an easy task.

Speaking as a consumer now (rather than a technician), I would have to say that if I discovered my local pharmacist had been convicted of a serious crime, this might undermine my confidence in his or her abilities. Whether or not the crime was relevant to the work that a pharmacist carries out, I could still have lost the respect and trust that I previously held. This is exactly the same as if it were my doctor, dentist or optician. I do not believe you can treat tradesmen the same. They may earn as much, if not more, than most pharmacy staff, but salary should not come into it. It is a matter of profession and I still believe that the health care professions as a whole are to be revered and, as such, all members should behave in a manner befitting their chosen profession.

Helen Knipe
Sandhurst, Berkshire

A court of law should decide our fate

From Mr A. Matalia, MRPharmS

Andrew Grierson was correct (PJ, 4 March, p264): my initial letter was designed to be controversial in order to get people thinking. Mr Grierson, Clive Murray (ibid) and Graham Southall-Edwards (ibid) all missed the real point I was making. Preventing someone from working in their vocation should not be in the hands of a professional body. It should be in the hands of a court of law. Only then is everybody treated equally.

Amit Matalia
Coventry, West Midlands

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