PJ, March 2007

Still no terms of reference for the Carter working party

With only one more meeting of the working party set up to advise Lord Carter on the establishment of the General Pharmaceutical Council and a royal college-type body, its terms of reference are still under discussion. Lord Carter, who chairs the working party, is due to write his paper and prese…

The Society has not met its Waterloo

With the Royal Pharmaceutical Society moving into uncharted waters, Olivia Timbs asks the President, Hemant Patel, about his views of its future.…

Profession should invest some faith in a metamorphosis of the Society

On one level the future of the profession has been decided: the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain as we know it will be no more because there is a Government will to set up a regulatory body in the form of a General Pharmaceutical Council. There is a more nebulous aspiration to set up a …

Agreement backed by 18 pharmacy organisations says that royal college should be all-encompassing

Basic agreement on how a professional leadership body for pharmacy should be set up was reached at a meeting held in Waterloo, London, earlier this month. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society was not invited to participate. The so-called “Waterloo agreement”, backed by 18 pharmacy organisations, …

Future must be built on trust

Although the devil is always in the detail, there seems to be a great deal of support for the establishment of a royal college-type body to serve pharmacy and associated professions, and thereby, the public. This week’s issue carries a number of items approaching the issue from different angles. T…

No need for the Society to surrender our assets

Mark Walker’s letter (PJ,3 March, p246) proves that at least someone has thought through the practicalities of the Government’s rupturing of our Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Unfortunately he did not go far enough. Clare Bellingham’s review of the transfer of regulatory function of the Pha…

Ocular conditions from A to Z (ii)

This week’s CPD section continues the article published on 17 February (pp195–8), in which Marvyn Elton presents an A to Z guide to ocular conditions that pharmacists might encounter.…

Community pharmacist: delivering new PCMS services

Fiona Morris is a pharmacy manager for Lloydspharmacy in Cumnock, Ayrshire. When not working, she spends time with her husband and two children. Her other interests include amateur photography and needlecraft. Reflection…