General support claimed for Scottish academic body
General support exists for the creation of a body to provide academic
leadership for pharmacy in Scotland, although few details have been decided,
according to Graham Coombs, head of the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy
and Biomedical Sciences, and Terry Healey, head of the school of pharmacy
at the Robert Gordon University, who issued a statement this week.
The statement follows a recent
meeting that the two schools convened at which the formation
of a Scottish Collegiate of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists
was discussed (PJ, 26 January 2008, p71).
The two
professors said that their comments reflect the views expressed at the
meeting but
that
the only decision was that a working group would be established to consider
the next steps. Issues it will address are the body’s remit, structure,
funding and sustainability.
The professors state that the SCPPS could serve an identified need in
post-devolution Scotland, where healthcare is taking a different direction
than in other parts of the UK.
“Such a body would not be instead of or in competition with any
GB/UK professional body that may emerge after the split of the Royal
Pharmaceutical
Society and the emergence of the General Pharmaceutical Council. The
timelines for discussions on the different bodies are coincidental,” they
state.
Asked what makes the SCPPS different from a professional leadership body,
the professors said: “[The SCPPS will be] focused primarily on
research in a Scottish context, involving the schools of pharmacy.”
Membership
of the SCPPS will be open to pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists
from any sector who have an interest in progressing research, they added.
The collegiate structure of the SCPPS will have the two schools of pharmacy
as essential elements.
“But this does not [imply] any element of control by the universities
but rather that the chairs of pharmacy practice in the said institutions
would have a particular role in representing academia and aiding integration
with other pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists,” they said.
The involvement of these chairs explains why some pharmacists reported
that the SCPPS is to be funded by the Scottish Government. Asked about
this, the professors stated: “The cost of the chairs at first will
be partially met by funds from NES [NHS Education for Scotland]. The
university will cover the remaining costs and in time the chairs will
be fully funded by the universities.”
One of these chairs was advertised in The Journal earlier this
month (PJ, 5/12 January 2008, pA28) and the other is expected
to be advertised shortly.
Commenting on the plans, Rose Marie Parr, chairman of
the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Scottish Pharmacy Board, said: “Pharmacy is developing
rapidly and there is a real need to ensure that undergraduate and postgraduate
education meet the changing needs of practitioners, now and in the future.”
She added that pharmacy did not have a good record of underpinning policy
or practice development with credible research.
“Developing closer working between the two schools of pharmacy
in Scotland and bringing together pharmacy practice and science will
help to address
this situation,” she said.
“However, in developing these closer links care should be taken
to consider the wider impact on pharmacy particularly at a time when
the profession
wants to achieve greater influence by working together.”
The Society’s President, Hemant Patel, said: “The Society
is committed to establishing a new world class professional body — one
that will be a unifying force for pharmacy professionals throughout their
careers.
“The new body must support education, innovation, best practice
and professional development from training all the way to retirement
and beyond. It must support
generalists and specialists within
pharmacy and enable its members to be fulfilled professionally.”
Why is this body needed?
“Currently, there is no pharmaceutical forum
in Scotland which brings together the schools of pharmacy, pharmacist
practitioners and pharmaceutical
scientists to formulate a research strategy and form a network
which links practitioners with pharmaceutical scientists,” Professors
Coombs and Healey said.
“Such a forum has the potential to facilitate increasing the capacity
for research to advance pharmacotherapy and pharmaceutical practice.
The forum could also be commissioned by other bodies in Scotland
to provide expertise into their policies and strategies.”
The purpose of the body will be to develop research, and to form
a network to link practitioners and pharmaceutical scientists.
“The research will have benefits in terms of best practice and the
support of practitioners via the network of participants,” they
said. Research results will be disseminated “to inform and
lead best practice, and feed into postgraduate and undergraduate
education development within the schools”. |
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