President identifies six priorities for the Society
The Society’s Officers for 2006–07: left to right, the
Vice-President, Gerald Alexander, the President, Hemant Patel, and
the Treasurer, John Jolley |
The President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Hemant Patel, has set out six priorities for the Society.
Addressing the June
Council meeting after his re-election
to office for a further year (PJ, 10 June, p689), the President identified his priorities
as inspiring confidence in the Council, building awareness of interdependence
between the profession’s sectors, giving a clear message about
the Society’s dual role, making the profession more entrepreneurial,
valuing pharmacy’s collective inheritance and helping pharmacists
develop a personal vision. His address is set out in full in the Panel below.
In the election of the Society’s Officers for 2006–07, Mr
Patel was nominated to continue in the office of President by Douglas
Simpson, who said that Mr Patel was a natural leader, full of ideas and
energy who was always looking to progress the profession. Examples were
his leading role in developing pharmaceutical public health and his role
in developing a medicines management pharmaceutical care project in Barking
and Havering, demonstrating that pharmacists can make a huge difference
to the way medicines are used.
John Hanlon seconded the nomination.
Alan Kershaw nominated David Thomson for the office of President. He
said that Mr Thomson had served the Society well in Scotland. He was
clearly a man of experience and standing. Mr Kershaw added that part
of his motivation in making the nomination was that it was healthy to
have contested elections.
Colin Ranshaw, seconding the nomination, said that Mr Thomson had performed
the task of chairing the Scottish Executive extremely well. He had qualities
that would bring a different style to the top table.
In a ballot, Mr Patel received 21 votes and Mr Thomson eight. Mr Patel
was declared elected.
The President took the chair and asked for nominations for the post of
Vice-President.
John Gentle nominated Gerald Alexander for a further term of office.
Sid Dajani seconded the nomination.
Marcia Saunders nominated Colin Ranshaw. Lesley Morgan seconded the nomination.
In a ballot, Mr Alexander polled 21 votes and Mr Ranshaw eight votes.
Mr Alexander was declared election.
The Vice-President, thanking the Council, said that he would continue
to support the President and help implement Council policy and strategic
objectives. He also thought it was his duty to keep the membership informed
of the Council’s intentions and actions.
In the election of the Treasurer, Martin Astbury nominated John Jolley
to serve for a further term. Brian Curwain seconded the nomination.
Ms Saunders nominated Mr Ranshaw. Mr Thomson seconded the nomination.
In a ballot, Mr Jolley polled 18 votes and Mr Ranshaw 11 votes. Mr Jolley
was declared elected.
The Treasurer thanked the Council for the confidence and trust it had
placed in him. He said that he would endeavour to live up to that in
reporting to the Council all those aspects related to the financial management
of the Society.
In the election of a lay member to work with the Officers, Ray Jobling
nominated Alan Kershaw. Mr Thomson seconded the nomination.
Mr Simpson nominated Bob Michell to continue in the position. Jonathan
Buisson seconded the nomination.
In a ballot, Mr Kershaw polled 10 votes and Professor Michell 18 votes.
Professor Michell was declared elected.
Professor Michell said that he intended to carry on for one more year
only because other lay members should have an opportunity. He reminded
the Council that the role was that of critical friend, on behalf of the
whole Council, not just the lay members.
In the election of an additional member of Council to work with the Officers
in the absence of an immediate past president on the Council, Graham
Phillips nominated Mr Astbury to continue in the role. Stephen Wells
seconded the nomination.
Ms Saunders nominated Mr Ranshaw. Sylvia Hikins seconded the nomination.
In a ballot, Mr Astbury polled 19 votes and Mr Ranshaw 10. Mr Astbury
was declared elected.
The Council then went on to reappoint Ann Lewis as secretary to the Society
for the year 2006–07.
The President’s address
to the Council after his re-election
The following is a transcript
of the President’s address
to the Council.
It is a great honour to be elected President
of one’s own
profession. So I thank Council members for their confidence in
voting me as President for the coming year, at a time when there
is great anxiety in the profession about the future of the Society
and the profession itself.
Our job is to replace anxiety with hope and entrepreneurship by taking firm
action which is supported by the members to transform the profession. Earlier
in the year the Council asked me, in my personal capacity, to lead the work
on the Pharmacy 20:20 project to form our new vision for the profession. This
is an important piece of work, which I very much look forward to leading. I
hope it will lead to a transformed relationship with our members, which has
steadily and dramatically worsened in the last few years.
To transform the profession, we ourselves have to change and transform. This
means that we have to be committed to change and transformation and take the
profession with us by gaining their trust, respect and support. I genuinely
believe that Council members with different skills, knowledge and networks
have been brought together here at a unique time to help our members make the
necessary transformation. Pharmacists on the Council cannot be seen here as
mere representatives of pharmacists. To transform the profession and secure
our collective futures we must lead. This means recognising the difference
between representing pharmacists and leading.
To make the necessary progress, I reiterate some of things which I have said
before and which I firmly believe. We have to set new priorities. I identify
six priorities which are important.
· We must create an environment which inspires greater confidence
in the Council, not only just as a regulator, but also as a membership
association formed to help and support pharmacists for the good
of the public.
· We must build greater awareness of the interdependence of the various sectors
within the profession to each other and our dependence on others for our existence
and prosperity.
· The Society must give a clearer message to all that says the Society is both
a professional membership organisation and a public interest body, and that
there can be no conflict between the two. Furthermore, we must demonstrate
by action that the tradition of serving members is not outworn and we still
have valued members, not mere registrants. At the same time, we must ensure
that we are able to convince the public and the Government that we do strive
for higher standards of practice and that we will work with them to continue
to improve systems.
· We must make the profession more entrepreneurial, and give pharmacists the
joy of achievement that is lacking at the moment. If we can do that, we will
automatically introduce the thrill of creative effort that is desperately needed
at the moment in both the business and the professional areas of pharmacy practice.
· We must value our collective inheritance as pharmacists and bequeath it to
the next generation in a better state than we found it in. This means that
we must acknowledge that our culture, tradition and practice of pharmacy needs
to be reformed and can be reformed. Our present Charter is so simple and practical
that it is possible to meet extraordinary needs imposed by the Government by
changes in emphasis in arrangement without loss of essential form.
· We must help pharmacists develop a personal vision, as when there is no personal
vision the people perish. This can be done by helping pharmacists interpret
and internalise the grand vision that we are continuing to fashion here and
elsewhere. This means that we must have more contact with our members, better
communication and greater candour with our pharmacist colleagues. The test
for effectiveness of greater contact must be the deliver of change at the public
end and not column inches in the pharmacy press.
We have much to do, and we as the Council cannot shrink from dealing
with difficult problems in our profession. We must do all that
we can to ensure that our noble profession will endure, as it has
endured in the past and hopefully even prosper in a very different
and more competitive environment.
I am sure that our open, honest, inclusive and energetic performance will,
in due course, be reciprocated by understanding and support of pharmacist colleagues
and others. Hopefully this will be sufficient to ensure that we are on the
path to a brighter future and are able to take all the opportunities that are
presently and in the future available to us as pharmacists.
Finally, Council, I accept the role of the President, and for the trust placed
in me I will return the courage, the energy and devotion that befit the time. |
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal