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Graham Phillips is a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society’s Council
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In last week's Broad
spectrum article (PJ, 30 September, p390), Sandra Gidley MP rightly pointed out that now, more than ever, pharmacy must be out there ensuring that politicians understand our role and back our cause. Mrs Gidley is right when she says that pharmacy organisations should put more resource and effort into engaging effectively with politicians of all parties.
Of course we should. I have long argued that the pharmacy bodies should
work together to maximise our effectiveness and create a more visible
presence for the
profession. I believe that
the Royal Pharmaceutical Society should invest far more in activities
that support and give a voice to the profession. As a member of its Council,
I strive to achieve that balance.
However, as chairman of the Society’s public affairs planning group,
I cannot leave the membership with the impression that the Society is
ignoring the importance of public affairs. On the contrary, the Society
invests considerable resources in a public affairs programme that has
measurably succeeded in raising the profession’s profile. The effectiveness
of this work has been acknowledged by senior political figures in England,
Scotland and Wales with a health brief from all the main political parties.
Yes, a good working relationship with ministers and officials is crucial
but that does not stop us making a robust case on issues where we do
not agree with Government. In fact, I challenged Lord Warner (the “NHS-modernisation
minister”) publicly on his support for pharmacy at the Labour conference,
which I attended as a representative of the Society last week. More on
this anon.
We must take our message to all the political parties, think tanks and
patient groups wherever the Society has a remit.
Devolution of health policy to Scotland and Wales has required additional
effort. The Society’s executives in those countries have developed
close, effective relationships with the devolved administrations. Given
the influence of the EU in framing legislation, we are also active in
lobbying on directives and other measures that originate there.
Our overall aim is to get pharmacy into the strategic debate and involved
in decision-making and to position the Society as a “must-consult” organisation.
Pharmacy is embedded in many aspects of health policy in England, Scotland
and Wales. However, we all know that pharmacy still regularly gets overlooked
and ignored. This is partly because politicians and the media tend to
default to the simplistic notion that “health” equals “doctors
and nurses”. That rubs off on the public too and we need to find
more effective ways to address this.
When I talk to pharmacy audiences, I am often asked what the national
pharmacy bodies are doing about a particular or contentious politic issue.
My reply is often “Tell me what you are doing about it”.
We have one massive advantage that we must make more of: 12,000 pharmacies
that could and should function as a living portal for the pharmacy message.
Every time a member of the public goes into a pharmacy — millions
of “hits” a day — we have the opportunity to make a
good impression, communicate a message and demonstrate why we matter
to an audience of more members of the public, patients, carers, politicians
and journalists than the pharmacy bodies can ever hope to reach. Pharmacies
and pharmacists are our own best PR.
Successful public affairs work is built upon sustained day-to-day contacts
and briefings across all the political parties punctuated by “big
bang” campaigns. In Westminster, we have been briefing this year
on a range of important issues: pharmacy education and the academic workforce;
the pharmacy workforce and skillmix; pharmacist access to patient information
and IT; prescribing and medicines management; and primary care. In Scotland
and Wales, we have tackled issues specific to the parliament or assembly
programmes, such as prescription charges and practice developments relating
to the new contracts, and are preparing briefings ahead of forthcoming
elections.
This year, we undertook a major briefing programme on the Health Act.
We briefed a wide range of MPs and peers of all parties who, as a result,
raised our concerns in both houses. We distributed a well-received and
influential briefing on hospital pharmacy for England. We were active
in drawing attention to the damage caused by the oxygen supply fiasco,
meeting the health departments in England and Wales and giving full briefings
to both Opposition parties in Westminster and to all Welsh Assembly members.
Because it is so important to engage with all political parties, the
Society fosters good dialogue with the front bench health teams in England,
Scotland and Wales and with a broad range of opinion formers with health,
social care, science or industry interests.
Success in public affairs is also about partnership working and the Society
and the other pharmacy bodies undertake many activities together. Chief
among these is our support for the All-Party Pharmacy Group at Westminster,
a highly active parliamentary group with over 100 MPs and peers in membership.
Under the leadership of its chairman, Howard Stoate MP, and its officers,
currently Mark Todd MP, Sandra Gidley MP, Baroness Cumberlege and Baroness
Tonge, the group has tackled some key issues affecting pharmacy and produced
thoughtful reports on topics including the pharmacy and general medical
services contracts, control of entry, IT, emergency hormonal contraception
and primary care. The group is now undertaking an inquiry into the future
of pharmacy and members can respond through its website (www.appg.org.uk).
The strength of the pharmacy organisations working together from their
different perspectives was demonstrated beyond doubt when the Office
of Fair Trading proposed a free-for-all market in community pharmacy.
The organisations — and, most importantly, pharmacists themselves — mounted
a vigorous lobby to communicate concerns to the public, who swamped politicians’ mailboxes
with letters of support for our position. In turn, politicians across
all parties backed pharmacy’s cause — a highly unusual result,
politically speaking. Scotland and Wales rejected the OFT’s plans.
In England, the Government backed away from the OFT’s position
with its so-called “balanced package of measures”, the effects
of which we continue to monitor.
The pharmacy bodies also work together on other public affairs activities.
We organise meetings where health spokespeople of all parties can discuss
their policies with pharmacists and patient groups. At the party conferences
in England, Scotland and Wales, we have run award-winning exhibition
stands and organised groups of pharmacists to highlight issues in fringe
meetings. This year, the Society has attended the party conferences in
England and Scotland. Most recently, members will have read about the
Society’s work at the recent Labour conference, where we were active
in fringe meetings and engaged in dialogue with three health ministers
and several MPs.
All in all, we are undertaking an ambitious and energetic programme,
getting maximum value from the allocated resources. There are lots of
successes to report but there is so much more to do to put pharmacy at
the centre of the debate. I have gone on record as saying that pharmacy,
and the Society in particular, needs to shout more about the excellent
work done on the profession’s behalf. I want members — including
Sandra Gidley, the only MP who is a pharmacist — to keep challenging
us to get our message across more effectively. The profession and the
public we serve deserve no less. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal