The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7405 p731
17 June 2006

Society summary

Scottish board must be empowered, AGM hears

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society must ensure that its Scottish National Board is empowered to deliver on behalf of Scotland's pharmacists, the annual general meeting of the Society's members in Scotland heard on 13 June.

Guest speaker Frank Owens, chairman of the Scottish Pharmaceutical General Council, told the meeting: “To attempt to represent Scottish interests from London in future will prove increasingly difficult and, most likely, prove at best only marginally effective. I therefore hope that Lambeth recognises fully its Scottish responsibilities and puts in place, here in Scotland, the machinery necessary to support a promising professional future.”

Mr Owens’s main topic was the new pharmacy contract in Scotland (see p708). He said that it was vital that the Society should provide robust support for the new Scottish initiatives.

Earlier, members had been welcomed by the chairman of the Scottish Executive, Rose Marie Parr, who reviewed the year’s activities. She said that the executive had discussed a large number of Scottish, UK and Society consultative documents and reports. Debate on prescription charges had produced agreement that the current system was inequitable and in need of overhaul, but complete abolition could not be supported as it would destabilise the system. Dr Parr emphasised the importance of Scottish branch activity in providing an effective link between the members in Scotland and the executive. Some branches were strong but in other areas of the country the branch system was crumbling and in need of attention.

Dr Parr said that this was expected to be the last AGM of the Society’s Scottish Executive before it was dissolved to be replaced by the eagerly awaited Scottish National Board. Although progress had been slow since the publication of the devolution review, the end of the long and winding road was now in sight and she was confident that the three national boards would be operational within the next few months.

David Thomson, the Council member elected to represent Scotland, and a past chairman of the Scottish Executive, outlined his Council duties over the past year. He welcomed the opportunities for better Scottish representation offered by the new Council structure. However, he said, the Council still had some pockets of resistance to the concept of devolved responsibilities and there was some Anglocentric behaviour. He expected this to be finally resolved when the national boards were fully operational.

(This year there were no election results announced at the Scottish AGM because of an agreement by the Council at its meeting in December 2005 that the executives should continue in office without further elections until the new pharmacy board is established.)