Pharmacists Want To Embrace 'Service Era' But Obstacles Remain, NPA Workshop Reveals, UK

Main Category: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Article Date: 15 Sep 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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The National Pharmacy Association event - 'Thriving in the Service Era' - at the British Pharmaceutical Conference on Sunday 7 September revealed an appetite amongst community pharmacists for taking on new services, but a widespread concern that many obstacles remain.

Seventy NPA members and other pharmacy stakeholders discussed a range of themes arising from the Pharmacy in England White Paper, including taking up new clinical services, embedding and demonstrating quality, balancing income streams and nurturing key local relationships, for example with NHS managers and GPs.

John Turk, NPA Chief Executive, who introduced the NPA event alongside Board members Ian Facer and Raj Patel, said: "The turnout at our workshop indicates a continued appetite amongst community pharmacists for clinical roles. However, the workshop discussions confirmed that members feel bruised by their experiences with Category M, jaded by the general lack of engagement from NHS commissioners and anxious about the implications of flagship government policy initiatives such as polyclinics. The Department of Health must ensure that such concerns are addressed if it wants community pharmacy to be an enthusiastic partner in delivering a world class NHS."

John added: "The NPA is in constant dialogue with members, at events like this and in our day to day work. Our next member events will be held at the Pharmacy Show in Birmingham and at the Ulster Chemists Association's 2008 conference in Belfast."

National Pharmacy Association