The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7449 p474
28 April 2007

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Don't disturb the flowerbeds more
A chance to prove your worth more

Don't disturb the flowerbeds

We commend the Broad spectrum written this week by Jonathan Buisson — member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Council — in which he asks pharmacists (and other interested parties) to consider what they might bring to “the royal college party” (p484). He acknowledges that one of the trickiest issues is whether non-pharmacists should be fully invited guests or just observers of the activities, and suggests that there may well be fighting in the flowerbeds over them. He also points out that the issue may come down to funds — “members mean money” — and this is a question that not only all pharmacists should address but also the Department of Health.

In an ideal world, a royal college of pharmacists would attract all registrants and, as a result, would be able to offer a wide array of services and professional support for reasonable individual cost. But how many pharmacists will really want to join? Are enough interested in what goes on at 1 Lambeth High Street? It must be remembered that only 20 per cent of the membership vote in Council elections.

Would it, perhaps, be better to have a royal college for pharmacy that embraces pharmacy technicians, pharmaceutical scientists, all other non-medical prescribers and non-pharmacist Qualified Persons, if it meant that the body could better provide the desired support for the profession than start life unable to do everything it wants? Embracing all these groups might mean granting them equal status or, alternatively, it might mean giving them associate membership and some influence — but surely it would have to be more than leaving them with their noses pressed against the windows with occasional invitations to step inside.

Importantly, the Department of Health must also declare its interests and tell the profession what it intends to bring to the party. Since it is the party planner, start-up money should be the sine qua non of its presence there, plus some firm commitment to provide ongoing funding by, say, agreeing to commission services from the royal college on behalf of the NHS or recommending that pharmacists in the NHS with more than five years’ experience should be college members.

Let us hope that, when the party starts, the flowerbeds remain undisturbed.

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A chance to prove your worth

Sometimes commercial opportunities come from unlikely sources. The recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence that employers should allow smokers paid time off work to attend cessation clinics may be a chance for pharmacists to prove their worth. Any pharmacist who has access to an industrial area, in particular, and experience of providing smoking cessation advice could offer to run sessions for companies. A win:win opportunity for everyone.

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