Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain to split
Government expectations
General Pharmaceutical Council
• It will be responsible for the regulation of pharmacists, pharmacy
technicians, and for the registration of pharmacy premises.
• It will also exercise the role of the current pharmacy inspectorate.
• As a minimum, it will have parity of membership between professional
and lay members.
• Members of the GPC will be appointed, not elected.
Society/royal college-type body
• It will have significantly enhanced leadership.
• It will be a learned and authoritative organisation, supporting
excellence, professionalism, and innovation in the science and
practice of pharmacy.
• It should have an important role in revalidation arrangements
and contribute expertise to the new GPC.
• There is an expectation that there will be lay involvement in
the royal college-type body but the details are yet to be determined. |
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society is to split and regulation of the profession will be carried out by a new General Pharmaceutical Council. A royal college-style model is proposed to take on leadership of the profession and the chief pharmaceutical officers of Britain hope that the Society will take this opportunity to transform itself into this professional and clinical leadership body.
The plans were revealed in the Government’s White
Paper on the regulation of health professionals, presented to Parliament this week.
The White Paper sets out landmark proposals for the reform of the regulation
of health professionals in the UK and is based on extensive consultation
on the chief medical officer’s review of medical regulation and
the accompanying Foster review of the non-medical health professions.
Hailing the announcement as a historic moment for the profession of pharmacy,
Keith Ridge, chief pharmaceutical officer for England, said at a briefing: “I
am delighted that the Government has decided to help the profession to
establish a royal college alongside a new regulator. Pharmacy needs to
embrace this opportunity. It is a good package — a GPC specific
for pharmacy, a royal college specific for pharmacy. That type of opportunity
does not come along often.”
“It is about making regulators fit for the 21st century,” added
Bill Scott, chief pharmaceutical officer for Scotland.
Explaining the motives behind the decision, the White Paper states: “As
the profession takes on an increasingly clinically important and professionally
demanding role in the treatment of patients, whereby pharmacists have
autonomy to prescribe potent drugs, the Government believes that [the
Society’s] dual responsibility [as regulator and professional leader]
is no longer sustainable if the public are to be reassured that there
is effective independent regulation of this role. The RPSGB needs to
separate its regulatory system from its system of professional and clinical
leadership, allowing each distinct function to focus solely on its core
role.”
The Department of Health has set up a working party, chaired by Lord
Carter of Coles, a life peer with experience in health care, to work
collaboratively with the pharmacy profession to agree an implementation
plan. The working party includes the chief pharmaceutical officers for
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as representatives
from the Society’s current Council, the Pharmaceutical Society
of Northern Ireland and other pharmacists.
In terms of the structure of the royal
college-type body, Carwen Wynne Howells, chief pharmaceutical adviser
for Wales, said: “What we are doing is giving the profession the
opportunity almost to start with a blank sheet of paper. There are a
variety of models that could be used and it is within the remit of the
working party to explore the different options to determine what is the
best way forward for the profession.”
Mr Scott added that he believes the royal college model provides an opportunity
for an umbrella organisation to bring together the many different pharmacy
organisations, particularly those catering for specialists within the
profession.
Commenting on the announcement, Hemant Patel, President of the Royal
Pharmaceutical Society, said: “The transition to a General Pharmaceutical
Council and the possible establishment of a body akin to a royal college
must be properly managed and resourced. There must be sustainable funding
arrangements for the long term and there should be no greater risk to
patients or the profession. There should also be strong and transparent
governance arrangements for both the regulation and professional leadership
of the pharmacy profession.” He added that the Society wants to
see full consultation with the profession and with others who have a
key stake in the Society’s work.
“The RPSGB is a well established, proven professional and regulatory
body with a strong track record of protecting the public and supporting
and
leading pharmacists. In the process of change, we urge the Government
to build on these strengths.”
The working party will make recommendations to ministers by the end of
March. The Government aims to have legislation in place to establish
the GPC by mid-2008 with a minimum of two years’ transition during
which the GPC becomes active.
Implications for the Society and its current
Royal Charter
The White Paper says that it may be necessary for
the Royal Pharmaceutical Society to seek amendment or replacement
of its Royal Charter (PDF 110K) if
it decides to redefine its professional leadership role. One of
the objects of the Society is to promote public health and well-being
by regulating pharmacists and other people engaged in related activities.
The Journal has been advised by an expert on royal charters
that chartered bodies are under no obligation to pursue all their
charter
objects, so it is possible that no change would be needed.
It is not clear whether the proposals could raise the prospect
of the existing Charter being forcibly revoked. The Journal has
been advised that royal charters are not revoked by the Queen,
but by Act of Parliament.
David Reissner, a solicitor with expertise in pharmacy matters,
said: “There is no precedent in living memory for the Queen
revoking a royal charter. The Society would cease to exist as a
legal entity if the Charter was revoked.” Revocation, rather
than amendment, would raise the question of what would happen to
the Society assets, valued in the 2005 accounts at £5.246m
(not including the goodwill value of RPS Publishing). The Charter
provides for the Society’s assets to be transferred to a “body
or bodies with objects similar to those of the Society” if
revocation is sought by a special resolution of the Society. The
Charter does not provide for distribution of assets if revocation
is imposed externally, which means that they would become Crown
property. |
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