The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7450 p534
5 May 2007

Society summary

National pharmacy boards reports

Welsh Pharmacy Board continues discussion on communications

Finding ways to improve communication with the Society’s members in Wales is continuing to exercise the minds of the Welsh Pharmacy Board of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

After debate at its second formal meeting, held on 26 April, the board decided to hold further discussions to consider ways of developing “full and effective two-way communication” between board and members.

It was agreed that an ideal opportunity for starting this process would be a scheduled meeting for branch secretaries and pharmacy development group representatives on 3 May, which would enable the board to gain opinion and ideas from members across Wales.

The board also agreed that, in addition to engaging effectively with members in Wales, it would develop a new format for the annual meeting for members in Wales. But it rejected a suggestion that it should hold one board meeting outside Cardiff each year.

Board members also presented brief reports on the current status of each branch in Wales, following their contact with the branches to which they had each been assigned. It was agreed that these reports would be used to inform further the discussions on how to enhance engagement with the branches. This work would be taken forward by the board’s Communications and Public Affairs Group and would also be discussed at the meeting on 3 May.

Public affairs The board heard that an initiative by its communications and public affairs group had led to nine Assembly members visiting pharmacies within their constituencies in the run-up to the Welsh Assembly Government election on 3 May. The board’s vice-chairman, Marc Donovan, who also chairs the Communications and Public Affairs Group, said that the visits had been facilitated by the Welsh Directorate and a board member had been in attendance on each occasion. The visits had successfully promoted pharmacy to both current and prospective AMs, he said.

Secondary care The meeting discussed how the board could work more closely in the future with the Trust Chief Pharmacists Group, following a presentation on developments in the role of pharmacy in the secondary care setting given by Dave Roberts, chief pharmacist at University Hospital of Wales. Mr Roberts explained that the Trust Chief Pharmacists Group brings together the chief pharmacists from each NHS trust in Wales to ensure links between the trusts, and to reflect on Welsh health policy in the context of secondary care. It has a range of subgroups that look at various areas of practice within secondary care.

Specialist pharmacists The board was given an update on progress in the development of consultant pharmacists and pharmacists with a special interest. The board heard that the Welsh Assembly Government had set up a working group to look at the two roles and how they will be developed. The board was asked to nominate two pharmacists, ideally including a pharmacist prescriber and/or a pharmacist with a community pharmacy diploma, to engage with the working group.

Regulation White Paper The board confirmed its intention to engage fully with developments surrounding the White Paper, “Trust assurance and safety: the regulation of health professionals in the 21st century”. It would urge all members to become involved in the issue because of its importance. The board made its decision after receiving an update on the White Paper from the Society’s Secretary and Registrar, Ann Lewis.

Representation on the board The board considered its current geographical and sectoral representation and agreed that no co-option of additional members was necessary. It did, however, agree that input from the primary care sector was important and requested that an invitation be extended to primary care pharmacists to make a presentation to the board at its meeting in July and to invite a primary care pharmacist to observe at future meetings of the board.