Society encourages profession to take part in S60 Order consultation
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society is encouraging all members of the profession to contribute to the Department of Health's 12-week public consultation on its proposed changes to the regulation of pharmacists in Britain and pharmacy technicians in England and Wales (see p371). The proposals
are set out in a 114-page consultation document seeking comments on
a draft Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians Order under Section 60
of the Health Act 1999.
To help pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, the Society has produced
its own full briefing document, available from its website.
It has also prepared a four-page overview of the proposals, which is
published as a pull-out section (PDF 70K) in this issue of The Pharmaceutical
Journal.
The pull-out summarises the areas covered by the draft Order and goes
on to highlight three major areas of practice and procedures that the
proposals will change. The first area is disciplinary procedures, which
are to be updated with the creation of a new Disciplinary Committee,
with broader powers than the current Statutory Committee, plus a Health
Committee, which will deal with those whose fitness to practise is impaired
by ill health.
The second area highlighted is education and training. Among other things,
the Order will introduce mandatory continuing professional development
for those on the “practising” Registers. It will also make
provisions for specialisation, giving the Society power to decide what
areas of practice require specialist training and to annotate the Register
to indicate those who have acquired specialist status. Independent prescribing
is likely to be an early example.
The third highlighted area is the introduction of statutory registration
for pharmacy technicians in England and Wales.
The pull-out goes on to summarise five issues that the Council is considering
raising in its own response to the department’s consultation. These
issues are as follows:
· Pharmacy technicians in Scotland The Society’s biggest concern
is that, because the regulation of professions recognised after 1998
has been devolved to the Scottish Parliament, pharmacy technicians practising
only in Scotland will not be obliged to register with the Society.
· Registration and membership The Society is concerned that the department
is considering removing the link between registration as a pharmacist
and membership of the Society. This, it says, could cause problems if,
for example, someone who has been struck off the Register used his or
her MRPharmS title and academic qualification to obtain work.
· Initial actions in respect of allegations The Council is concerned
at a requirement of the draft Order that when an allegation is referred
to a fitness-to-practise committee it must also be notified to the ministers
and to the employer of the person concerned. The Council believes this
should not be an automatic requirement because it could be detrimental
to a pharmacist who is the subject of an allegation that is later proved
unfounded.
· The Society’s main purpose The Council would like the Order’s
definition of the Society’s main purpose to acknowledge and reflect
the Society’s Charter.
· Attitudes and behaviours The Society wants the requirements for registration
as
a pharmacist or pharmacy technician to
be extended to embrace the consideration of attitudes and behaviours
as well as knowledge and skills.
The Society’s full briefing document also lists a number of other
issues of concern, including a proposal that the Privy Council should
have power to change the size and make-up of the Society’s Council
without prior request of the Society.
A further concern is that the draft Order fails to give the Society power
to deal with fitness-to-practise concerns about preregistration trainees
and pharmacy students, despite increased patient contact during their
education.
The Society is encouraging all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to
visit the department’s website and to comment direct to the department
on the proposals. It reminds them that they may also wish to copy their
comments to the devolved administrations. And, finally, it suggests that
they might also send comments to the Society to inform its own formal
response. A special online form
to make this process easier is available on
the Society’s website.
This must be returned by 4 May 2006.
President welcomes Order
Commenting on the Government’s proposals for new pharmacy legislation
(see this page), the President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society,
Hemant Patel, said: “After months of delay and speculation,
I am delighted that the Department of Heath has finally published
its proposals. The Society has worked hard over a number of years
to influence the shape of this historic document and our efforts
have borne important fruit.
“The Government has long been determined to reform the health professions.
Rather than waiting for reform to be imposed from outside, the
Society has been working since 2001 on a fundamental review of all its processes.
We presented the resulting many hundreds of decisions to the Department
of Health and we have been working with them ever since to ensure
that, as far as is possible, the Order would reflect our wish list.
“In the main, we have been remarkably successful. The Order is a well-crafted,
enabling document that takes on board most of the Council’s
recommendations for reform and should serve pharmacy well for years
to come. There are areas where we would have wished to see change
that the Order either does not or cannot by its nature cover, but
we hope that these can be addressed in later legislation. In particular,
pharmacists will be disappointed to see that the proposals do not
include the statutory regulation of pharmacy technicians in Scotland.
However, there are some areas that the Order does cover where we
feel modification may be needed, and this is why I want to urge
you to study the proposals and have your say.
“The importance of these proposals cannot be overstated. This Order
will have an impact on all practising pharmacists. The 12-week
consultation period offers us all a real opportunity to influence the draft and
ensure the best possible outcome for our future, so please take
a
look at the pull-out to find out more, and respond as soon as possible. |
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