Jul
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain has given its views on the Final Report byLord Darzi to the House of Commons.
The Commons Health Select Committee has been holding an Inquiry into the Health Minister’sReport and as part of this has sought the views of six different organisations: the RoyalCollege of General Practitioners (RCGP); London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine(LSHTM); the NHS Confederation, the Kings Fund; the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges;and the Society.
The Society’s Director of Policy and Communications David Pruce gave the pharmacyperspective, appearing with Professor Steve Field, Chair of the RCGP and Professor NickMays of the LSHTM.
The Society was generally pleased with the results of the Review and suggested the SelectCommittee ask Lord Darzi - appearing next week - how his Review will take account of otherrecent initiatives, such as the Pharmacy White Paper(1).
David Pruce said:
“The Report by Lord Darzi, coupled with the Pharmacy White Paper, gives the opportunity forpharmacy to make real changes to the experiences of patients. We are, however, particularlyconcerned about how variable implementation is across Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). Forexample, the Pharmacy White Paper talks about a national minor ailment service throughpharmacies, yet only 24% of PCTs currently commission them. When we examined theStrategic Health Authority (SHA) vision statements we saw enormous variability in theinvolvement of pharmacists. We also found significant inconsistencies in the SHA’sconclusions about the pharmacist’s role in delivering these visions.”
The Select Committee is expected to Question Lord Darzi this week and publish a report onthe Review in the coming weeks.
(1) Department of Health. (3 April 2008): Pharmacy in England: Building on strengths - delivering the future
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
http://www.rpsgb.org.uk