The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7456 p692
16 June 2007

This article
Reprint   Photocopy

PDF 30K, Acrobat Reader

Reluctance to dig deep more
Hospital pharmacists stand and be counted more

Reluctance to dig deep

Last month, The Journal requested — under Freedom of Information legislation — sight of “Economic analysis of pharmacist regulation”, the confidential report prepared on behalf of the Department of Health by NERA Economic Consulting to inform the deliberations of the Carter working party. The report was made available this week. The economic analysis is, in fact, quite thin but that is not surprising considering the short time available for the consultants to reach their conclusions (p693). Nevertheless, there are some significant points that should hearten members who may believe that the DoH needs a reality check.

Whatever dreams pharmacists may have about what a future leadership body may do for the profession, they will come to little if there is no money. NERA acknowledges that the most cost-effective option of separating the two functions of the Society will be if they remain in close contact, and share the same space and backroom functions — and even that will cost a minimum of over £3m a year. NERA also acknowledges that the DoH cannot dictate what the Society will do in the future: that will depend on the preferences of the membership.

Quite how difficult it may be to encourage pharmacists to dig deep into their pockets and join a voluntary leadership body is evidenced by an aside in the report made about the College of Pharmacy Practice: “Membership rates fell from 1,625 in 2004 to 1,176 in 2005 following an increase in registration fee charged by the RPSGB. Consequently, the CPP has devised a strategic plan to redress the issue in 2006 but new membership rates are yet to be published. Annual membership rates are relatively low at £70 but the college has been operating under loss of income.”

Perhaps this goes some way to explain why the college has been in favour of the Society taking on the mantle of a royal college type-body. If an additional £70 per year were a deterrent for nearly a third of pharmacists who would be core to such a body, the DoH should tread carefully rather than trample over the Society.

Back to Top

Hospital pharmacists stand and be counted

After last week’s election of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Officers, an outsider might be forgiven for thinking that the organisation is focused on community pharmacists. This image is not helped by the need for a by-election in Wales to replace Colin Ranshaw — who was the only practising hospital pharmacist on the Council and who has had to stand down on health grounds. For the Society both to be seen to be inclusive and to lead the whole profession forward, members in Wales could take this opportunity to elect another hospital pharmacist.

Back to Top