NEWS
PhArMACISTS CoME TogEThEr To InSPIrE ChAngE
The hilton Templepatrick golf and Country Club will be the venue on Tuesday 9 May 2017 for a conference that is designed to promote innovation and quality outcomes in pharmacy.
The event – ‘Inspiring Change’ - which will be hosted by the Pharmacy Professional & representative Bodies (PPrB), will provide community pharmacists and their teams with an opportunity to consider how they can enhance the quality and safety of their practice, including innovative new ways of delivering services.
The event will comprise a number of fast-paced presentations focusing on ‘inspiring change’, including real-life examples of innovation in local community pharmacies. Promotional stands will also offer a snapshot of the innovative solutions currently available.
The event is free of charge and attendance will count towards your CPD record. A two-course buffet will also be provided and the evening will afford an opportunity for networking with fellow pharmacy professionals. for further details and to book your place please visit:
http://forum.psni.org.uk/news/inspi ring-change-conference/
TrADE fAIr ProVIDES onE- SToP ShoP for CoSMETICS!
formed almost 30 years ago to offer the pharmacy sector a one- stop shop for their Christmas trade, this year’s trade fair will once again introduce a range of new brands to buyers! from cosmetics to perfumes, jewellery to wrapping/bags, the trade fair provides everything in one place in one day – a fact which is of huge benefit to Ireland’s cosmetic buyers! The show takes place on May 21, 22 and 23 2017 in the Main hall and hall 3 in the rDS at Ballsbridge in Dublin. registration is available at the door. for more information visit
cosmeticassociation.ie
6 - PhArMACy In foCUS CoMMUnITy PhArMACy PAyS TrIBUTE
on 9 March this year, northern Ireland community pharmacy said goodbye to one of its ‘stalwarts’ and a man who had done so much for the local profession. Derek lawson had been ill for some years but, nevertheless, news of his passing had come as a shock to all who knew him.
Born and raised in groomsport, Derek studied pharmacy at Belfast Technical and, after qualifying as a pharmacist in Belfast, he moved to England, where he worked for the Co-op before returning in 1983 to take up the post of Secretary at the Pharmaceutical Society of northern Ireland (PSnI); a post he was to hold until his retirement in 1999. Derek was also returning to live by the sea in his beloved hometown of groomsport where he was able to regularly play golf - one of his great passions.
In the early days, Derek was very much involved in helping the Society forge links with other healthcare professional bodies in the province, such as the British Medical Association ni and the general Medical Council. he was a regular visitor to the British Pharmaceutical Conference where he accompanied a myriad of nI presidents and was the ‘custodian’ of the chain of office which he trusted no President to take care of.
During his tenure as Secretary, and eventually as registrar, Derek was a steadying influence for all of the Presidents, the Council and the sub- committees, quietly defusing difficult situations before they became destructive. he had a friendly and warm personality, exuded confidence and was always at ease. he, along with his loyal secretary, Carol Anthony, steered PSnI, the smallest pharmaceutical society in the world, through significant changes in professional regulation and professional leadership. relationships forged with royal Pharmaceutical Society of great Britain and The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland ensured tht PSnI was able to make these changes as efficiently as possible. Derek oversaw, for example, the introduction of the pre- registration examination which, given its size, was a huge challenge for the Society.
one of Derek’s main strengths was his ability to give sound advice, and, because his role was non-strategic and non-controversial, he was able to put this to good use as he focussed on working for the good of the profession as a whole.
not long after he took up his post at the PSnI, Derek also took up the post of Secretary of northern Pharmacies ltd (nPl). nPl had been established in 1969 as a joint venture between PSnI, UCA and PCC, and was initially set up to provide pharmacy services in areas where patients didn’t have access to a community pharmacist.
When Derek first joined the board of nPl, the company comprised only one pharmacy in Brownlow, Craigavon, which had a turnover of just over £300K per annum and dispensed just under 50,000 prescriptions per annum. Derek was able to apply his solid business acumen and knowledge of regulatory matters and legislation to great effect in this role, which subsequently saw nPl benefit greatly from his contribution.
over the next thirteen years or so, Derek oversaw the takeover of a part- time pharmacy in greyabbey in 1986, the purchase of another pharmacy in Poyntzpass in 1993 and the opening of a new pharmacy in Cullyhanna in 1996. As a result of this growth, nPl’s turnover grew to more than £3 million, with nearly 210,000 prescriptions dispensed in 2011.
In that same year, Derek retired as Secretary and Director of nPl, but, despite his retirement, he remained a member of the company and a trustee of nPl Trust fund, which supports projects in research and health to promote improvements in outcomes for patients’ health.
Derek took a great interest in this work and, up until a few months prior to his death, he attended, and was an active participant in, nPl Trust fund meetings.
needless to say, the directors and staff at nPl are mourning the loss of their former Board member.
‘Derek will be greatly missed by nPl directors and staff, and across the wider pharmacy community,’ Chairman Derek Corbett said in a company statement. ‘In addition to the vast pharmacy knowledge and business acumen that Derek brought to nPl, he will be sorely missed for his personal qualities – in particular his dry sense of humour and his witty comments that were delivered with a very straight face. he will be very fondly remembered.
‘Derek always had a quiet smile and friendly word for everyone, but could be a bit impatient at times such as when he kept me, in my role as Chairman, right on a number of occasions with a quiet word in my ear. More than once I heard ‘Move them on, they’ve been at this long enough!’
‘Derek,’ says pharmacy contractor and fellow nPl Board member, Sheelagh hillan, ‘was an extremely trustworthy, straight-forward man, whose advice was always very measured. he never forced his views on anyone, but had that very rare quality of being able to persuade people round to his way of thinking – but in a very diplomatic way.
‘over the years that he served as the Secretary and registrar of PSnI, Derek worked with a series of very high- profile Presidents, but he worked at all times in a very competent and highly-respected manner. To my mind, and to use a northern Ireland saying, he ‘kept his counsel’ at all times and I can honestly say that, in all of the years that I knew and worked with him, I never knew him to be cross at any time.’
The thoughts and prayers of all involved in northern Ireland community pharmacy go out to Derek's wife, Sandra, daughters Pamela and Julie, and his entire family circle.
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