Scottish community pharmacists asked to ignore Journal article based on NHS circular
Community pharmacists in Scotland were last week asked to ignore an article in The
Pharmaceutical Journal even though it was based on information in an NHS circular sent to them at the same time.
At the end of last week, community pharmacists were sent three documents:
an NHS circular distributed by health boards detailing the financial
framework for the new contract, The Journal reporting the content of
the NHS circular and a letter from the Scottish Pharmaceutical General
Council telling contractors to disregard The Journal’s article.
The letter from Frank Owens, SPGC chairman, states: “The SPGC contract
negotiating team strongly advises that contractors disregard [The
Journal’s]
article. Whilst the piece itself is accurate ‘as far as it goes’,
the article describes only part of the overall proposed funding package.”
Clare Bellingham, The Journal’s Scottish correspondent, said: “The
NHS circular was published on the Scottish Executive’s website
last Tuesday. I reported the content of that circular since it was in
the public domain and I strongly refute any implication that my article
was either inaccurate or incomplete. The circular is titled the ‘pharmaceutical
services/pharmaceutical care services financial framework 2006–07’ and
in no place does it suggest it is only part of the financial deal.”
An SPGC spokesman said that Mr Owens’s letter did not imply that
contractors should disregard the NHS circular. However, he mentioned: “The
Scottish Executive circular is fine in itself, as far as it goes, but
does not reflect the full funding package. The SPGC document is an attempt
to set out the full financial package as clearly as possible for contractors.”
Details from the SPGC document are reported on p495. |
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