INTERVIEW
IN LIGHT OF THE PUBLICATION OF THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT’S ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE IN PHARMACEUTICAL CARE STRATEGY, AND, WITH AN INCREASING EXPECTATION THAT PHARMACISTS WILL BE PRESCRIBERS WORKING AT THE FRONT LINE OF PATIENT CARE, JOHN MACGILL ASKS ALEX MACKINNON, ROYAL PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY DIRECTOR FOR SCOTLAND, WHETHER HE FEELS THAT THE SUPPORT, PROTECTION AND GOVERNANCE OF THE PROFESSION IS EVOLVING TO MEET THE CHALLENGES…
BACK AT THE HELM AND FACING NEW CHALLENGES
John Macgill (JM): You’ve just returned to Scotland after four months in London as the organisation’s interim Chief Executive. During that time, Achieving Excellence in Pharmaceutical Care was published. What are your thoughts regarding the challenges it provides for Scottish pharmacist?
Alex MacKinnon (AM): There is a high expectation, quite rightly, of what pharmacists can contribute. But there is a limit to what any profession can deliver without getting the resources to do it, whether that is new money or resources shifted from some other
4 - SCOTTISH PHARMACIST
area. I am doing a lot of advocacy work around how our profession needs to be better resourced and equipped to do all these extra things.
I have always been very supportive of pharmacists being prescribers. That was the Government’s ambition in Prescription for Excellence, that everyone who has a patient-facing role should be a prescriber. I’m not necessarily sure that has to be absolutely everyone, but I am fully supportive of as many pharmacists as possible also being prescribers because it widens the scope of their practice,
enhancing pharmaceutical care and access to medicines for their patients.
JM: Do you feel that that prescribing pharmacists are protected to the same extent as prescribers in other areas of healthcare are?
AM: That is an interesting area because there have been a lot of challenges around getting the correct level of insurance cover for pharmacists who are prescribers. That appears to be starting to move forward.
It is all about prescribing within your
level of competency and building up your level of competency. But it’s not such a big change. If you look at the Minor Ailment Service, we have been prescribing since that was introduced. The urgent supply PGD was also good because it got people seeing that their pharmacist could prescribe repeat medication if a doctor wasn’t available. So, full independent prescribing is vital to pharmacists’ contribution going forward. But that must be matched with appropriate access and input to the electronic patient record. That’s an important goal for us. We believe it is coming,
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