The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7473 p390
13 October 2007

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Compromising patient safety

Beat consultation fatigue, take part now!

Compromising patient safety

Will patient safety be under threat, following the implementation of EU Directive 2005/36/EC? For those people not in the know, the Directive, which comes into force next week, will allow professionals from the European Economic Area and Switzerland, whose qualifications are recognised in their home countries, to practise in any other EEA country.

That means, for example, a pharmacist who has trained anywhere in the EEA or Switzerland can work in Great Britain (or Northern Ireland) without being registered or can ask the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (or the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland) to join the Register free of charge. The only restriction is that the visitor is only allowed to provide services on a temporary or occasional basis.

Theoretically, a company or hospital trust experiencing problems staffing its pharmacies at the weekend could fly staff in from the continent on a Friday and fly them back two days later — ad infinitum — and the Society would have to recognise these temporary staff if it were requested.

Moreover, there is no necessity, under the terms of the Directive, for these visitors to undertake continuing professional development unless that is an obligation demanded by their home regulators.

There may well be some test cases on this because, as well as pharmacists, the Directive covers doctors, dentists, nurses and midwives, veterinary surgeons and architects. For starters, regulators will need to define what “temporary” and “occasional” mean (p391).

The Council of the Society raised its concerns about this at the June Council meeting (PJ, 16 June, p715) — and rightly so. The whole issue of patient safety seems to be effectively consigned to a corner cupboard by this. If a pharmacist — a visiting foreign national — is found to be wanting, the opprobrium will be heaped on the shoulders of the Society, for allowing an incompetent pharmacist on to its Register.

This would undermine the public’s confidence in the profession at one fell swoop. All of this further emphasises the need for all concerned pharmacy bodies and individuals to continue to pressure the Government to introduce safeguards at the earliest opportunity.

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Beat consultation fatigue, take part now!

Consultation fatigue may soon set in for pharmacists (with a consultation on the future of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and another on the responsible pharmacist looming). But, before it does, they should try to participate in Pharmacy 2020.

A letter from Past President Nicholas Wood in this week’s issue (p402) draws further attention to the issue raised by Clive Jackson two weeks ago (PJ, 29 September, p365). Is pharmacy sleepwalking into a professional schism? Is there any turning back? Are Mr Jackson’s clinical modernists on their way to becoming Mr Wood’s “pharmaclinicians”? Does it matter?

Join the President (p417) in making your views known.

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