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Letters to the Editor
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The Society
Why no cheques?
From Mr J. E. Balmford, FRPharmS
I cannot believe that the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Council
has decided to cease the acceptance of payments by cheque. Electronic
payment may be the way forward, but not all pharmacists, especially the
elderly, have the means to pay in this way. I assume that this idea has
come from the staff who now seem to run our Society.
I would like to
know what the problem is in accepting cheques. It cannot be the extra
work involved because whenever I visit the Society, there always seems
to be plenty of staff. It is just another idea that has not been thought
through.
When the activities of the Society are split up, the new professional
body will need all the members it can attract, and when you realise
the length of time some of our members have been on the Register, this
may
well be yet another reason to cease membership.
It is my intention, next year, to pay my membership fee by cheque.
If and when it is refused, I will not attempt to pay by any other means.
I would ask as many members as possible to do the same so as to show
the finance department that they cannot ride rough shod over members. John E. Balmford
Past President
Royal Pharmaceutical Society
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HEMANT PATEL, President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society,
responds:
I would like to assure Mr Balmford that the decision
to remove payment
by cheque was only made after careful consideration.
In 2005, a strategy paper was developed by the Society’s Financial
Controller
which looked at financial processes and identified which “hidden costs” could
be eliminated. Although the removal of payment by cheque was, at that point,
a little ahead of its time, the Council agreed that, with a communication plan
and the appropriate systems in place, this should be implemented in 2008.
In
the past two years we have seen many companies and organisations follow the
same approach and it is becoming more difficult to have a cheque
accepted in our everyday
life.
Although a majority of members now use MyRPSGB to make payments on line, we
still retain a number of other methods for payments by members. These include: • Direct Debit. Members can provide their bank details to the
Society by completing a direct debit mandate. The Society will
notify each member in advance of the date which payment will be
taken from their bank account.
• Online. For those members wishing to pay online without access to a personal
computer, libraries and internet cafes all offer use of computers and will
provide support for using the internet.
• Telephone. In addition, a facility is currently being set up for members
to pay their fees over the telephone. A telephone system will talk the member
through how to make a payment by either debit or credit card. We will be communicating
details of this service, including providing a user guide nearer the time.
With regard to the number of staff employed, the introduction
of MyRPSGB has seen the number of staff reduced by 4.5 for the
period of the retention fee process. This, together with other
associated costs, has resulted in a cost saving of over £60,000
enabling further investment in membership services.
Mr Balmford is correct that the Society wants to retain all members within
the professional body. However, in order to do this, we need to demonstrate
that the membership fee represents value for money. This does require us to
continue to look for efficiencies and ensure we keep our administration costs
at their lowest for the benefit of each member. |
Put out by pro-forma letter
From Mr J. B. Nutt
Having retired and had two years on the non-practising Register I finally
decided that I would resign from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. On
receiving the notification of my resignation from the Registrar, I was
put out, to say the least, by the final paragraph of the letter.
I quote: “Some members retire after many years of service to the
pharmacy profession. If you are one such member,may I take this opportunity
to thank you and to wish you the very best for the future.”
I served 39 years and six months as a pharmacist. Yet it appears the
Society cannot be bothered to look at someone’s record to see length
of service and adjust a standard pro-forma letter. Or are so many resigning
that they are overwhelmed with work?
John Nutt
Aylesbury,
Buckinghamshire
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JEREMY HOLMES, Chief Executive and Registrar, Royal Pharmaceutical
Society, responds:
It is always helpful to have feedback from members,
and I appreciate
the letter sent to members resigning from the Register may seem impersonal,
especially after long service to the profession.
The Society is already
changing the way it communicates with its members, and I hope members
will see improvements over the coming months.
I would like to take
this opportunity to thank Mr Nutt for his 39 years and six months
service to pharmacy, and I hope he will stay in touch with the Society. |
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal