NEWS ABPI rule on Breaches of Code


The industry’s code of conduct regulator has ruled on several alleged breaches of the ABPI code of pharmaceutical conduct by pharma companies.


day in order to keep pace with rivals, and provided data on recorded visits, yet the panel found the figure to be excessive, and ruled a breach in this regard, although not for an additional allegation that a trust policy had been breached.


The Prescriptions Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMPCA) investigations looked into alleged breaches of code by companies including Merck Serono, Menarini and Stirling Anglian, and a voluntary admission by GlaxoSmithKline.


A breach was ruled in the case of a senior NHS nurse who complained about the frequency with which Merck Serono sales representatives came to see him/her, sometimes without appointment. Merck Serono explained that it had increased the frequency of visits to a target of six visits per


GlaxoSmithKline also voluntarily admitted that patient support items (demonstration devices and training whistles for the Ellipta inhaler) had been handed out at a meeting for nurses organised by a third party, contravening code clauses forbidding such items being handed out from exhibition stands.


GSK was judged to have violated clauses 6.1 and 18.2, but not clause 2, which relates to promotional materials bringing discredit on, or reducing confidence in, the pharmaceutical industry.


Galen submitted a complaint about the promotion of constipation


medication CosmoCol (Macrogol 3350 plus electrolytes) by Scotland-based Stirling Anglian Pharmaceuticals, alleging that a March 2015 advertisement breached the code by giving details of pack sizes and cost and failing to include Cosmocol’s non- proprietary name or active ingredients.


The panel agreed that since the abbreviated advertisement listed the active ingredients as reflected in the Summary of Product Characteristics, breaches of Code clauses 4.3, 5.2 and 5.4 should be ruled.


Elsewhere, another code breach announced included a Menarini email overstating the impact to buyers of the increasing cost of generic allopurinol, and marketing its own Adenuric (febuxostat) as an alternative.


The judgements can all be viewed in full on the PMPCA website, as can the code.


We need to talk about Palliative Care


The RPS in Scotland has published its response to the Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee inquiry in palliative care: “We need to talk about Palliative Care”.


Their response has been informed by expert views and experiences from RPS members ranging from specialists in palliative care, specialist prescribers working in other therapeutic areas where palliative care is sometimes required, such as cardiovascular, respiratory and renal units, to members working in the community as generalists with a special interest in palliative care in primary care.


The submission provides further detail and background regarding current issues affecting palliative care and patient experience and makes four key recommendations for committee members to consider:


• Read and write access to health records should be available with the patient’s consent to all those involved in their care to ensure continuity of care, patient safety and timely access to medicines


• Multidisciplinary education and training is required for prescribers to ensure they are familiar with Home Office requirements for controlled drug prescriptions to avoid unnecessary delays in patients accessing their medicines


• New models of care need to be explored to allow community pharmacists to work to the top of their licence, as part of the multidisciplinary healthcare team to provide a more holistic package of care


• There should be alignment of one GP practice, one community pharmacy and one care home to


improve pharmaceutical care in care homes, which are increasingly required to deliver palliative care.


RPS in Scotland Practice & Policy Lead, Aileen Bryson MRPharmS, says, “We want the Health and Sport Committee to have a clear understanding of the important role pharmacists play in palliative care, and to recognise the potential to use their clinical skills to contribute more to patient care.


“Pharmacists from all sectors of the profession strive to provide the best pharmaceutical care possible, however there are some challenges that needs to be addressed, particularly around controlled drugs, and these are highlighted in our evidence submission.”


NEWS IN BRIEF


STAFF ISSUES ‘SERIOUS’ AT NHS LANARKSHIRE


A Scottish NHS board has 129 unfilled posts from junior doctor to consultant level, putting patient care in jeopardy.


In NHS Lanarkshire there are 129 vacant posts at consultant, specialist and junior doctor level. About half are filled by locums – leaving 65 posts empty.


From accident and emergency and general surgery to medicine/ care of the elderly, orthopaedics and urology, there are concerns there are not enough consultants, specialists and junior doctors to cope with the demand in NHS Lanarkshire.


Now, in a report to the board on medical staffing, the NHS trust have admitted there are real problems.


A&E at Monklands and Hairmyres is considered high risk with Wishaw labelled “very high risk”.


In the most recent weekly A&E figures, NHS Lanarkshire were the second worst performing health board, with only 91.4% of patients seen within four hours. Only NHS Shetland were worse.


The health board also had the highest number of patients waiting more than eight hours and were the only one where anyone waited longer than 12 hours. Three patients in the last week waited more than 12 hours at Hairmyres.


The medicine/care of the elderly at all three is also high risk as is general surgery at Hairmyres and Monklands. Wishaw’s general surgery is medium risk.


Orthopaedics in all three are high risk as is urology at Monklands. Anaesthetics, ENT, dermatology, neonatal, paediatrics, sex and reproductive health, and family planning and psychiatry are all medium risk.


MSP Margaret McCulloch has written to health Secretary Shona Robison over the “severity of the medical staffing crisis”. She said, “There are serious problems with staff recruitment and over-reliance on locums which is an on-going and escalating risk to services in the communities I represent.”


SCOTTISH PHARMACIST - 35


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