The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 267 No 7173 p697
10 November 2001

Home > Notice-board > Guide to the Society >
Policy development in the Society | Search

“Guide to the Society” articles

The work of the Policy Support Unit is explained by Eileen Neilson (head of policy support)

Radar and "horizon scanning"

Dealing with external documents

Providing advice to the Society

Policy development in the Society

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society's policies are decided upon by the Council. In making those decisions, the Council needs sound information and evidence-based analysis and advice. The Policy Support Unit plays a key role in providing that foundation for policy-making. The unit has two staff: Eileen Neilson, head of policy support, and her personal assistant Karen Turnham. Much of the work is carried out by external consultants who are specialists in particular areas of policy analysis and development. Some the unit's work can be viewed on the policy section of the Society's website.

In October 2000, the Council decided to focus its policy development within two major streams, both equally important.

Stream 1 relates to the national policy agenda. The strategy for pharmacy contained in "Pharmacy in the Future" (September 2000) currently provides the framework for this.

Stream 2 covers strategic policy development in relation to the longer-term needs of the profession (eg, preparation for future pharmacy roles).

Below are described several core areas of work that are carried out continuously.

Radar and "horizon scanning"

One of the unit's main functions is to keep the Society informed of major external developments that are likely to impact on the Society or pharmacy or both. Several activities contribute to this:

Scanning of key journals and newspapers for news, information and policy commentary (especially the BMJ, The Lancet, Health Service Journal, The Economist, Eurohealth, The Guardian, The Independent and The Observer, plus the pharmacy press)

Scanning of key websites (this information is provided by the Society's library information service)

Briefings on the national policy agenda (quarterly policy reviews analysing the main national policy developments in England, Scotland and Wales and their implications for pharmacy are prepared by Anthony Harrison of the King's Fund)

Special briefings on major national policies of particular importance to the Society or the profession (eg, the National Service Framework for Older People, generic medicines, the Kennedy report on the Bristol public inquiry)

Meetings with policy leads in other organisations (regulatory, professional, etc) to discuss topics of mutual interest

Attending national conferences and seminars to gather relevant information, to contribute to debate and to make useful contacts

Membership of national forums (eg, the Patients' Forum [a UK umbrella body made up of patient representative organisations and the statutory regulatory bodies in health care], the Department of Health's Non-Government Organisation Public Health Forum)

Attending meetings of pharmacy organisations, usually as an observer, or to report on the Society's policy work (eg, the Pharmacy Community Care Liaison Group, the Pharmaceutical Advisers' Group, the Boots Pharmacists' Association, the Prison Pharmacists Group)

Dealing with external documents

The Policy Support Unit and the Society's head of central administration, Angela Attah, operate a centralised system for all consultation documents coming into the Society to ensure that they are logged, that all the relevant members of staff are able to contribute to the Society's responses to these documents, and that they are properly signed off. These responses may provide an opportunity for the Society to develop a policy or position on a particular issue, or to reconsider existing policy. Their availability on the Society's website raises awareness of the Society's policies both among its membership and the wider policy community.

The unit leads or contributes to some of these responses. It may lead on areas that require new policy development across a number of functions in the Society (eg, "Whose hands on your genes? — consultation on the uses of personal genetic information", the Human Genetics Commission, February 2001). The unit may also lead on topics on which the head of policy support has done other work (eg, public health, implementation of NSFs, prison health care).

Providing advice to the Society

The unit provides policy input and advice to other divisions and directorates (eg, a commentary on chief scientist Professor Tony Moffat's paper on "Point of care testing in the pharmacy"). In addition to this ongoing work, the unit carries out specific, time-limited pieces of work to develop the Society's policy on specific topics, or to contribute to external policy development.

Specific internal policy development projects completed since January 2000 (when the current head of PSU was appointed) have included work on: e-commerce; public health; governance; emergenecy hormonal contraception; wastage of medicines; self-care; futures; overview of reforms in the other professional regulatory bodies in health care; and generic medicines procurement by the NHS.

Ongoing projects include: competencies of the future pharmacy workforce; intermediate care (identification of the opportunities for pharmacy); direct to consumer advertising; and local strategic partnerships (implications for pharmacy).

The unit has recently contributed to external policy development on the following topics:

Prison pharmacy (through membership of the Government's prison nursing review reference group, input to the development of custodial health care competencies, and, currently, membership of the reference group for the Government's prison pharmacy review)

Medication policy in domiciliary care (through membership of the Department of Health steering group for national standards for domiciliary care providers, and subsequent work with national organisations specifically on medication issues, including an article published in "Homecare Matters", the newsletter of the Joint Advisory Group of Domiciliary Care Associations)

Implementation of the mental health NSF in primary care

Development of national occupational standards in mental health (led by Healthwork UK)

The Audit Commission's project on medicines management in hospitals

The work of the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting on covert administration of medicines

Scoping work on men's health (led by the Department of Health)

In addition, the head of unit is the Society's public health lead.

The unit has carried out a several pieces of work in the public health arena including responses to national consultation documents on public health topics.

Eileen Neilson recently gave a presentation on the pharmacy contribution to public health to the Department of Health's NGO Public Health Forum. Ongoing work includes a review of national public health workforce initiatives and identification of the opportunities for pharmacy.