Agreement backed by 18 pharmacy organisations says that royal college should be all-encompassing
Basic agreement on how a professional leadership body for pharmacy should be set up was reached at a meeting held in Waterloo, London, earlier this month. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society was not invited to participate.
The so-called “Waterloo
agreement”, backed by 18 pharmacy
organisations, supports an all-encompassing royal college, with categories
for practising, non-practising, retired and overseas pharmacists as well
as pharmacy technicians and others involved in the science and practice
of pharmacy.
Organisations that support the agreement
Association of Pharmacy Technicians
UK
British Oncology Pharmacy Association
College
of Mental Health
Pharmacists
College of Pharmacy Practice, including its Faculty of
Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacy and Faculty of Prescribing
and Medicines
Management
Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists
Institute
of Pharmacy Management
Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists’ Group
Primary and Community Care Pharmacy Network
Primary Care Pharmacists’ Association
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Pharmacy Law and Ethics Association
UK Clinical Pharmacy Association
UK Medicines Information
UK Psychiatric Pharmacy Group
NHS Pharmaceutical Aseptic Services Group
NHS Pharmaceutical Production Committee
NHS Pharmaceutical QA Committee
Technical Specialists Education and Training Committee
UK Radiopharmacy Group
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The meeting was convened by the College of Pharmacy Practice
with the aim of contributing to the dialogue about setting up a royal
college-type
body and making sure the views of small organisations are taken into
account. Some of the supporting organisations will wish to be an integral
part of the royal college and others will give their support while retaining
their independence.
CPP chief executive Ian Simpson stresses that the CPP is not in any way
setting itself up in opposition to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. “Indeed
the meeting was geared towards reaching an agreement to work together
with the Society,” he said. In fact,
this is the first of 10 points on which the organisations agree.
The organisations also agree that the royal college should have a faculty
system and that it should recognise different levels of education, expertise
and specialisation by means of peer group accreditation. “This
should take account of work that some organisations, such as the College
of Mental Health Pharmacists and the CPP, have already done,” said
Mr Simpson.
He estimates that the organisations represent about 15,000 pharmacists
and technicians, although he acknowledged that this does not take account
of people belonging to more than one organisation.
The Waterloo agreement was presented at a private seminar last week,
which was run by the King’s Fund on behalf of the Department of
Health to help inform Lord Carter and his working party on implementation
of the White Paper. Mr Simpson told The Journal that the agreement
came in for some criticism at the seminar for not having enough community
pharmacy representation. He acknowledged that many of the organisations
represent secondary and primary care pharmacists but pointed out that
75 per cent of the members of the Institute of Pharmacy Management are
community pharmacists.
The Waterloo agreement is available on the CPP
website |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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