Council adopts new Code of Ethics
A final version of the draft revised Code of Ethics for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians has been approved by the Council of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. It will be presented to the Society’s
annual general meeting in May for the approval of members, with a view
to bringing it into force on 1 August. Every member and registered
pharmacy technician will receive a copy before that date.
The March Council meeting was reminded that a fundamental review of the
current Code of Ethics and Standards and the Code of Ethics for Pharmacy
Technicians had been in process since late 2005. After a series of preliminary
consultations, a
final consultation (PJ, 11 November 2006, centre pull-out)
had sought views on the detailed wording and content of the proposed
revised Code. Respondents overall had been supportive of the proposals.
The working group had made further refinements to the text in the light
of the responses and had now finalised the revised code for formal approval.
The chairman of the code revision working group, Sheila McLean, told
the Council that no fundamental changes had been proposed in the final
consultation.
The President asked whether any other profession had made the change
from a code with everything spelt out to one in which practitioners had
to interpret the situation.
Professor McLean said that nursing provided a good example. It had made
its change in a similar way to the Society.
The President said that after 1 August pharmacists would need a bit of
help. He asked whether there were adequate support mechanisms to deal
with the situation.
The Society’s fitness to practise and legal affairs director, Mandie
Lavin, said that she expects a rising number of calls to the Society’s
legal and ethical advisory service as people get to grips with the new
approach.
The Society’s head of ethics (Lynsey Cleland) said that the Society
was looking at ways of getting the message out to the profession, including
continuing professional development articles in The Journal and published
case studies and answers to frequently asked questions. There would also
be visits to branches.
Bob Michell said that an excellent example of a profession that went
from a detailed and prescriptive code of conduct to one based on broad
principles was the veterinary profession. If the experience of pharmacists
mirrored that of the veterinary surgeons, there would be an initial “flourish
of skirmishes”, which the Society would need to be well equipped
to handle. It would then rapidly subside.
The Council congratulated Professor McLean and her team on their work.
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