NEWS


DERECOGNITION OF THE BPA – PDAU MEET WITH BOOTS


The Pharmacists’ Defence Association Union (PDAU) has announced that its representatives for the group of pharmacists who have applied to derecognise the BPA recently met with senior managers from Boots.


The purpose of this meeting was to explore the available options open to the parties during the 20- day statutory negotiating period.


The meeting followed the decision by the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) to accept the application from Boots pharmacists to end an agreement between Boots and the Boots Pharmacists’ Association (BPA) in order to clear the way for the PDA Union to seek recognition for the thousands of pharmacists, who work for the company.


In its decision, the CAC described the case as a ‘particularly unusual and interesting case’ and the fi rst to come before the CAC under the current legislation (which has


NEW THEALOZ® DUO GEL OFFERS NIGHT TIME SOLUTION FOR DRY EYE


Thealoz® Duo Gel is a new gel based dry eye drop from Thea Pharmaceuticals that is formulated to extend the ocular surface residence time1 of the innovative Thealoz® Duo artifi cial tear introduced earlier this year.


This


prolonged effect makes it ideal for night time use, in conjunction with Thealoz Duo for use through the day.


Thealoz Duo is a clinically proven2,3 eye drop for the treatment of dry eye and combines Sodium Hyaluronate with Trehalose, a natural disaccharide which uniquely protects cell membranes from extreme dryness and improves residence time on the ocular surface4.


The addition of carbomer 0.25% (lubricant gel) in Thealoz Duo Gel has been shown to signifi cantly extend the increase in tear fi lm thickness5 when compared with gels containing only hyaluronic acid or polyethylene glycol, meaning less


30 - SCOTTISH PHARMACIST


now been in force for 17 years) for the ending of bargaining arrangements between a non- independent union and an employer.


At the meeting the PDAU and Boots representatives discussed topics such as those related to the negotiation period, the defi nition of the Bargaining Unit for the purposes of any derecognition ballot and the working relationship between the PDAU and Boots


‘The company now have an opportunity to respect and listen to the views of its employees, to terminate the agreement with the BPA and voluntarily recognise the PDA Union as the voice of pharmacists at Boots,’ said Mark Pitt, Assistant General Secretary of PDA Union. ‘It will be disappointing if senior management insist on making pharmacists go through a full ballot process in order to be represented by the union of their choice.’


frequent instillation is needed.


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1. Schmidl D. et al. 2016. Int. Conf. on Tear Film and Ocular Surface


GPS SHOULD BE GIVEN PATIENTS’


A&E DATA SAYS REVIEW Former Chief Medical Offi cer Sir Harry Burns has carried out an independent national review into targets and indicators for health and social care and has concluded that GP practices should be given more data to help them better understand how and why patients choose to use A&E services.


The Scottish Government


commissioned Sir Harry to undertake his independent review following a Programme for Government commitment to ensure the approach to performance is outcomes based. The review was also supported by an expert group representing a range of organisations.


Among Sir Harry Burns’ proposals were that:


The present system of targets and indicators is fragmented and many of the indicators do not lend themselves to effective improvement interventions. A different approach


2. Pinto-Bonilla JC et al. Ther Clin Risk Manag 2015;11:595-603


3. Doan S et al. Acta Ophthamologica 2015; 93, Supplement S255


4. Schmidl D et al. Cornea 2015;34(4):421-6


5. Schmidl D. et al. Ophthalmology & Visual Science 2015: 57: 2881


to targets and indicators is necessary


Improving early life, social and economic circumstances of people living with deprivation as well as improving health and social services are all interventions which interact to increase healthy life expectancy. If an effective group of indicators, which would assist continuing improvement, are to be developed, we need to see the drivers of wellbeing as part of a complex system


Sir Harry also recommended that Scotland move to a system of indicators and targets which would allow improvements across a whole system of care to be tracked.


‘It is important,’ he said, ‘that frontline staff, managers accountable for performance and the people who use services coproduce the activities which they can then use to drive improvement.’


GOOD NEWS FOR PHARMACY CHAMPIONS


Pharmacy champions across Scotland have expressed their delight at the news that the Scottish government is to continue its £300,000 funding for the programme this year. The champions are practising pharmacists, who are not only experienced in delivering various strands of the pharmacy contract, but work to share their expertise and knowledge with their colleagues in the community.


The champions’ focus this year is on assisting community pharmacists to undertake care bundle activities, which have the non-steroidal anti-infl ammatory drug (NSAID) assessment tool as their primary focus.


At the beginning of next year, they’ll also be responsible for assisting NHS Education for Scotland (NES) with a community pharmacy workforce survey, and will be heavily involved in collecting data from independent community pharmacies in their respective Board areas.


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