The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7481 p660
8 December 2007

Society summary

Chief executive visits Scottish hospital pharmacy

The Chief Executive and Registrar of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Jeremy Holmes, visited the pharmacy department at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh last week, where he met staff, including Scott Garden, pharmacy site lead, and Pat Murray, director of pharmacy at NHS Lothian.

Mr Holmes learnt about the pharmacy’s one-stop dispensing system. “Using the system, patients’ medicines are available already labelled and ready for the patient when he or she is ready to go home thus considerably reducing waiting time and enabling beds to become available quicker than before,” Mr Garden explained.

Mr Holmes also visited the radiopharmacy department and met principal pharmacist Alistair Millar, a recent recipient of the 2007 Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists Gold Medal for his “outstanding contribution to hospital pharmacy at a national level”.

During the tour some time was spent discussing the different approaches to primary, secondary and tertiary care in Scotland compared with England and Wales. Mr Holmes also took the time to encourage individual pharmacists and technicians to respond to the independent inquiry looking into the principles, functions and structure of a future professional body for pharmacy.

Submissions to the inquiry can be made at www.theclarkeinquiry.com