The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7493 p308
15 March 2008

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• Category M medicines
• Community pharmacy (3)
• Primary care contracts
• 100-hour pharmacies
• PCT commissioning
• Prescription charges
• Medicines use reviews
• Dispensing
• Minor ailment scheme
• Adverse drug reactions
• Asthma management (2)
• Non-practising status
• The Society

Letters to the Editor

The Society

Worries about costs may be unnecessary

From Mr J. Ferguson, FRPharmS

In his responses to the letters from Mary Jobling and David McNaughton (PJ, 1 March 2008, p246), the Treasurer states that the post of Deputy Registrar “has existed in the Society for many years”. To the best of my knowledge, this post has existed for fewer than 10 years. There was no Deputy Registrar during my time as Secretary and Registrar of the Society (1985–98) or when I was an Assistant Secretary (1967–75).

A post of Deputy Secretary was created about 1975. Perhaps this post was redesignated Deputy Registrar as external pressure grew on the Society to concentrate more on its regulatory rather than its representative role. One would assume, therefore, that the post and the associated costs will, in future, be within the General Pharmaceutical Council. Thus Ms Jobling and Mr McNaughton may be worrying unnecessarily.

Mr McNaughton suggests the sale of both the Lambeth and Edinburgh properties and a move of the Society as a voluntary membership body to serviced offices. Would it not be better to consider the annual income that could be provided, to keep annual subscriptions as low as possible, by renting the significant proportion of 1 Lambeth High Street that will become available when the GPhC staff move out?

Funds provided by the members allowed the Society to purchase its original premises in Bloomsbury. The compulsory purchase of those properties by the government so that the National Library could be built opposite the British Museum (a plan later abandoned) provided the funds to build 1 Lambeth High Street, with a considerable additional reserve.

If the new Society is to be “akin to a Royal College” it will need to be appropriately housed. Perhaps my concern about moving to “serviced offices” is coloured by the experience of the National Pharmacy Association.

When I joined the staff of the then National Pharmaceutical Union, it was housed in central London at properties it owned in Queen Square. Some years later it was decided to move to rented offices at Southgate in north London. When the original rent became subject to review it apparently became apparent that costs would rise so significantly that it would be better to relocate to premises that could be purchased in St Albans.

To the best of my recollection, the Edinburgh properties are owned by the Benevolent Fund.

John Ferguson
Haywards Heath, West Sussex

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