The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7464 insert
11 August 2007

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Phillida Entwistle

In the second in a series of interviews with Society Council members Network News speaks to lay member Phillida Entwistle, who relays her experiences of a recent visit to the Sunderland branch

Network News summary

• What is your main role? As well as being a lay member on the Society’s Council, I have a part-time directorship with a utility company where my primary responsibility is to represent customers.

• Why did you become a lay Council member and why are lay members important? I was approached by the Department of Health and was interested because the role provided an opportunity to learn about a new profession. My remit includes bringing an external viewpoint to Council, but not exclusively as a patient.

Lay members represent the public interest, ensuring that the views and concerns of patients and the public are considered in all Council decision making. Lay members bring greater credibility and improved governance to all the Society’s activities and are now involved in all Council committees and working groups.

• You recently visited the Sunderland branch. What was the experience like and, as a lay member, what were your main thoughts during the meeting? It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I was impressed by the audience participation throughout: there was a manifest wish to learn and to share experiences.

• Did anything surprise you about the meeting? I was surprised by the high attendance — there were undergraduates, pre-registration trainees, academics and retired academics, and many community pharmacists. I was also impressed by the inclusion of a continuing professional development help desk, and by the enthusiasm of the branch chairman and committee.

• What were your lasting impressions of what you saw and heard? It was clearly a well run, supported and active branch. The main speaker concentrated on fitness-to-practise issues, and provided real examples of dilemmas that had been referred to the Society’s infringements committee. I suspect that some of these were completely new ideas to younger members of the audience and I was left slightly concerned that pharmacists may not fully appreciate the range of problems that could arise for them.

The presence of two inspectors was immensely helpful in underlining the importance of the various regulations and in explaining the responses to be expected, regarding a range of legal and ethical breaches. The inspectors also took the opportunity to explain their supporting and educational roles. I came away considering what a great asset the branch network is and how under-used it might be in some locations.

• Branch meetings often have pharmacist Council members in attendance, but what value do you think branches can bring to meetings by inviting lay members? The added value should be similar to whatever is added to Council deliberations by the lay members. Pharmacists who do attend branch meetings seem to be unsure of the benefits of having lay people on Council, which might be satisfied by asking us what we do and why.

• As a lay Council member, what would you like to see the branches focus more of their efforts on? The immediate future must be dominated by the imminent reorganisation of the Society. Creation of the General Pharmaceutical Council could be a reason for branches to focus on the new fitness-to-practise arrangements.

CPD will require increasing attention and revalidation will need discussion and explanation.

If membership of a future voluntary professional body is to be promoted, then branches could benefit from considering now what professional services might encourage membership.