The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7454 p655
2 June 2007

Society summary

BRM reports

Opposition to Society funding the attendance of pharmacy technicians at branch meetings

The Society should not provide funding to support the attendance of pharmacy technicians at branch meetings, the branch representatives’ meeting decided.

Jeff Harris (Oxfordshire) moved: “That branches receive additional core funding for the delivery of a full branch programme of meetings to technicians, as is currently provided by the Oxfordshire branch.” A number of branches informally invited technicians to attend their meetings, but there was no formal structure. Inviting technicians to branch meetings would help with their education and would attract technicians to register with the Society.

Susan Shelley (Oxfordshire), seconding, said that her branch had invited technicians to its meetings for several years. The 40 or so extra mailings a month represented 10 per cent of the branch administration burden. The funding sought to allow branches to support technicians’ continuing professional development obligations without depleting the branch account.

Anthony Cox (Birmingham) said it was the wrong time to put it forward. If some future “body akin to a royal college” had associate membership for technicians, then the motion would be worth voting for, but with the current financial pressures on the Society he had to oppose the motion.