The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7441 p237
3 March 2007

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Call for drug alert system to be reviewed

Drug alerts for general sale list medicines should be issued in a more co-ordinated fashion, according to two pharmacy bodies in Scotland. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Scottish Specialists in Pharmaceutical Public Health both made the call in response to a consultation on modernising public health legislation in Scotland.

They both state: “At the moment, there is a dual responsibility between the NHS for NHS settings and the local authority for non-pharmacy outlets. This has the potential to lead to inconsistencies of timing and management that could be both confusing and potentially hazardous for the public.”

Both organisations call for better co-ordination between the NHS and local authorities.

In its response, the Society also highlighted pharmacists’ roles in public health, including reducing smoking rates, tackling teenage pregnancy, supporting people with long-term conditions and providing information on healthy lifestyles.