Q&A
IN A gREAt NEW SERIES, thE UcA’S PhARmAcISt REPRESENtAtIoN gRoUP, WhIch WoRKS oN BEhAlf of All PRImARY cARE EmPloYEE PhARmAcIStS, WIll BE PUttINg tEN qUEStIoNS to thE movERS ANd ShAKERS IN NI PhARmAcY. to StARt thE SERIES off… thE PRESIdENt of thE PhARmAcEUtIcAl SocIEtY of NoRthERN IRElANd (PSNI), dR JIm lIvINgStoNE.
tEN qUEStIoNS
hERE’S YoUR ‘StARtER foR tEN…’ WhAt do WE gEt fRom oUR ANNUAl PhARmAcISt REgIStRAtIoN fEE? WhAt ARE oUR fEES USEd foR? By law, all pharmacists must be registered with the Pharmaceutical Society NI in order to practice pharmacy in Northern Ireland. through modern, proportionate and fair regulation of pharmacists and pharmacies our primary objectives are the protection of the public and upholding the reputation of the pharmacy profession.
the Pharmaceutical Society NI provides reassurance to the public by carrying out a series of statutory functions. these are all laid out in the Pharmacy (Northern Ireland order) 1976, as amended.
these statutory functions include, setting Standards for and accrediting undergraduate and post-graduate education for pharmacy. continual Professional development of pharmacists throughout their careers and setting Standards of conduct and behaviour, which, are found in the code launched in march 2016.
on the rare occasions, when a pharmacist does not meet the Standards required by us, we protect the public and uphold the reputation of the profession by delivering fitness to Practise proceedings. When a pharmacist’s fitness to practise has been judged to be impaired by an independent fitness to Practise panel, appropriate and fair sanctions are applied by us, the regulator.
our legislation also requires the organisation to carry out a representative function and in line with modern thinking on regulation, this function is carried out by a separate body with its own Board, the
50 - PhARmAcY IN focUS
the public regularly go to for advice. for example we have been meeting with the new mlAs at Stormont, as well as engaging citizen’s Advice NI, Advice NI, the health ombudsman and the Patient client council.
this ensures that where the public are not aware of us directly, the organisations they may turn to for advice, if they have an issue with a pharmacist or pharmacy, are fully briefed and able to direct them to us. But I believe we can and must do more.
Pharmacy forum – this body is also funded by the registration fee.
our Annual Report outlines in full detail all the activities of the organisation this can be found at:
http://www.psni.org.uk/publications/a nnual-reports-2/
At thE NIcoN coNfERENcE, WE hEARd YoU SAY thAt thE gmc dId Not KNoW Who thE PSNI WERE. WhAt hAvE thE PSNI doNE ovER thE lASt fEW moNthS/ PlAN to do IN thE fUtURE to AddRESS thIS IN oRdER to PRomotE EffEctIvE WoRKINg RElAtIoNS BEtWEEN oUR PRofESSIoNS? I did not say that the gmc did not know who the PSNI was. In fact, for many years now we have worked closely with the gmc, and indeed all the other healthcare regulators.
What I did say is that the PUBlIc are not well enough aware of who or what healthcare regulators generally are. one possible reason for this is that the public assumes and trusts that professions are regulated, but only seek the details of that regulation when something goes wrong.
As an organisation we actively seek opportunities to promote the regulation of pharmacists and pharmacies and the work we do directly with the public, through publications such as our newsletter, website and facebook.
We have, however, also been very active recently in promoting the work of the organisation to what may be called porthole organisations, by this I mean organisations that members of
hoW hAS YoUR PERcEPtIoN of commUNItY PhARmAcY chANgEd SINcE tAKINg UP YoUR RolE WIth thE PSNI ANd IS thERE ANY coNflIct WIth YoUR PREvIoUS RolES? WhAt motIvAtEd YoU to BEcomE INvolvEd IN thE SocIEtY? my perception and indeed understanding of community pharmacy (and indeed hospital pharmacy) has been enhanced significantly. more than ever I view community pharmacy as being that critical first stop for so many people when they have health concerns.
the role of pharmacies has evolved in recent years and I expect will evolve much further as pharmacists play an increasingly important lead role in the provision of high quality healthcare, dealing both with health issues as they arise with patients, and importantly in the essential work of preventative healthcare.
far from there being any conflict between my present role and previous work before I retired as a civil servant, I think I am able to use my past experience in healthcare strategy, policy and legislation to assist the PSNI in proactively working to ensure the most effective, proportionate and fair regulation for the future.
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