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Letters to the Editor
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White paper
There is a way forward for pharmacy
From S. M. Burman, MRPharmS
There is much talk about the English
pharmacy White Paper being only
a rehash of the ideas set out in the new contract that have never materialised.
As a community pharmacist, I am not surprised that we find ourselves in this
situation. Any community pharmacist will tell you that they would love to be
involved in more professional services, but while we still have the millstone
of the final accuracy check around our necks, we cannot take on any professional
roles unless we can train our staff to do most of it.
They do a great job, but it is not extending the role of the pharmacist or
making full use of the four-year degree course we are all required to complete.
Reluctance from primary care trusts to provide funding and from pharmacists
to take on a role they know they do not have time for has resulted in nothing
much happening.
If it were a requirement for all pharmacies offering professional services
to employ an accuracy checking technician (ACT) for a minimum of 20 hours a
week, this would release the pharmacist to become properly involved in the
professional role and would generate a lot more enthusiasm to do so. It would
also improve the career structure for dispensers, who are such a valuable part
of the pharmacy workforce.
The additional cost of this is easy to calculate (just over £10,000 per
year) so it would be up to PCTs and pharmacists to negotiate between them the
quantity and quality of professional services pharmacists were required to
do for this sum.
Sue Burman
Salisbury, Wiltshire |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal