The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7457 p750
23 June 2007

Society summary

National pharmacy boards reports

Scottish board confirms its intention to play a full part in developments arising from the White Paper

ARTICLE CONTENTS Branch network Roadshows Attendance at annual meeting Conference working group Political contacts Long-term conditions and pharmacy “Agenda for change”

The Scottish Pharmacy Board of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society has confirmed its intention to engage fully with developments surrounding the White Paper on the regulation of health professionals. At its third meeting, held in Edinburgh on 13 June 2007, the board also confirmed that it would continue to urge all members in Scotland to become involved in the issue because of its importance to the profession.

The board reaffirmed its intentions after receiving an update from the Society’s Secretary and Registrar, Ann Lewis. She announced that the Department of Health had established seven working groups to progress different aspects of the White Paper’s proposals and that the Society would be involved in, and contribute to, the work of a number of the groups. An extensive consultation with Society members would determine what they wanted from a future professional body.

Other main areas on which the board focused included engaging with members through the branches and continuing to communicate the pharmacy message to the Scottish political community.

Branch network The board asked its communications working group to look at ways in which the board could engage more productively with members through the branch network. It also agreed to hold a joint meeting with branch secretaries later in the year.

The decision followed a report on the Scottish branch secretaries’ meeting held the previous day. It was explained that the branch secretaries would welcome advice and support on how to move forward within the new structure.

Roadshows With one Scottish Pharmacy Board roadshow still to go, the board agreed that the initiative had been a great success. The attendance figures were encouraging and the issues raised had been relevant to the board’s activities and the challenges facing the profession.

Attendance at annual meeting The Scottish Pharmacy Board has asked its communications working group to consider suggestions for increasing attendance at the annual meeting of Scottish members.

Discussing the annual meeting held on the previous day (see p749), the board took the view that the guest speakers had made interesting and thought-provoking contributions that could have benefited many more participants. Discussing ways to increase the attendance, particularly among younger members, board members made a number of suggestions, including surveying members’ views on the content and timing of the meeting and using technology to communicate details of the meeting. The working group was asked to consider those and other suggestions.

Conference working group The board agreed to set up a working group to consider the options for hosting a conference in Scotland. It was agreed that a conference would be an ideal opportunity to engage with all sectors of the pharmacy profession, would raise the profile of pharmacy in Scotland and would provide a platform for further engagement with the political community.

Political contacts The board agreed to continue its political contact programme with the new Scottish Executive ministers and individual members of the Scottish Parliament. Board members also agreed that it would be useful to widen the programme to include Scottish members of Parliament at Westminster.

Long-term conditions and pharmacy The board decided that the Society in Scotland needed its own strategy on long-term conditions and asked the Society’s lead pharmacist for long-term conditions and public health, Paul Gimson, to work with it on developing such a strategy.

The decision followed an update presentation from Mr Gimson (by videoconferencing) and a discussion on how to progress the Society’s strategy in Scotland. Although appreciative of Mr Gimson’s work, the board took the view that a separate strategy for Scotland would be more appropriate, particularly as the fine detail of the emerging chronic medication service was as yet unknown. The board indicated that it was happy to work with Mr Gimson and invited him to attend a board meeting later in the year.

“Agenda for change” The board agreed to keep a watch on the workforce implications of the “Agenda for change” process. Although it had no remit to discuss remuneration, the board had a remit to consider matters that might affect patient care and delivery of services. If the process began to have such an effect, the board could use its unique position to influence by discussing key concerns with the political community.