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Letters to the Editor
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Public relations
Work to improve image of pharmacy in media
From Mr N. C. Patel, MRPharmS
I write in response to the Broad spectrum article by Alan Rogers “‘Would
you trust a chemist to check your health?’ We must deliver” (PJ,
19 April 2008, p470).
Mr Rogers referred to an article on the front page of the Daily Telegraph where
I was quoted as saying, “Pharmacists train for five years and are able
to do far more than dole out prescriptions.”
The phrase that caused Mr Rogers such offence was actually put to me by the
journalist as a question. I was asked, “Do chemists actually do anything
apart from dole out prescriptions? To which I answered; “Pharmacists
train for five years to gain expertise in medicines and are able to offer advice
about how best to use medicines.”
The readers of PJ may be interested that my quote went on to say. “We
can relieve some of the pressure on the NHS, and GPs in particular, especially
in the area of preventive healthcare. Unlike GPs, we see people before they
are sick, and can potentially save the NHS millions by identifying problems
before they become a significant health risk.”
The quote was the result of a conversation I had with journalist Rosa Prince
about the likely direction to be set by the (then unpublished) pharmacy White
Paper. Although some paraphrasing was used, I stand by what was said.
I will continue to refer to “pharmacists” rather than “chemists” whenever
I speak to journalists but their substitution of “chemist” for “pharmacist” is
unlikely to stop until a greater understanding of the role of the pharmacist
is ingrained in their consciousness.
Mr Rogers may be interested to know that I am as offended as he is by ignorance
about our existing clinical role. I practised as a community pharmacist for
over 10 years before being fortunate enough to be appointed to my role at the
National Pharmacy Association.
The NPA has been running an “Ask your pharmacist” campaign for
many years, which, I hope, has gone some way to raise the profile of our true
professional description. I have been directly involved in this year’s
campaign that will continue to highlight pharmacists’ evolving clinical
role.
I remain frustrated by the disconnection between the actual benefit pharmacy
has on the health of the communities they serve and the recognition pharmacists
receive from the media. My colleagues in the other pharmacy bodies and I will
continue to fill this knowledge gap as best we can, but we all rely on the
experience that patients and the public have every time they go into a pharmacy
to validate our press statements.
The NPA is keen to work with the profession in getting messages across to the
media from the front line. If Mr Rogers is interested in helping us I would
be delighted to discuss with him the opportunity of becoming an NPA regional
spokesperson, which would allow us to promote his experiences of providing
pharmaceutical care to a wider audience.
Neal Patel
Head of Communications
National Pharmacy Association |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal