18 December 2004

DoH seeks views on supervision changes for pharmacies

The Department of Health is seeking views on proposals to relax the rules on pharmacy control and supervision, allowing pharmacists greater flexibility in patient care. The changes also aim to put pharmacies on an equal footing with other retail outlets on the sale of GSL medicines.

A consultation paper, Making the best use of the pharmacy workforce, published this week, suggests changes to primary legislation to allow pharmacists to leave their premises to carry out other professional duties.

“The law will make clear that the responsible pharmacist does not have to be physically present in the pharmacy at all times .... with the support of appropriate technologies and standard operating procedures, transactions requiring pharmacist supervision might be undertaken remotely or the pharmacist might delegate these activities to pharmacy staff that are suitably qualified and accredited to take on these tasks,” says the paper.

Shipman Inquiry prompts regulatory review

The RPSGB will examine its regulatory role in the wake of the Shipman Inquiry’s latest report into the regulation of doctors.

The Government published its response to the Inquiry’s findings on CD regulation simultaneously with the release of the report.

The Inquiry’s fifth report focused on the General Medical Council and its investigative and disciplinary procedures; however, many of the issues are common to other allied self-regulating health professions such as pharmacy.

It will trigger a close look by the RPSGB of its own regulatory systems. Mandie Lavin, RPSGB director of fitness to practise and legal affairs directorate, said the Society would be considering Dame Janet Smith’s recommendations regarding complaints procedures, disclosure of information and accountability to see how much it already complies.

RPSGB seeks to nip poor performance in the bud

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society is releasing guidance on setting up local schemes to manage pharmacists’ poor performance.

The document aims to deal with poorly performing pharmacists at an early stage rather than allowing problems to escalate, necessitating disciplinary action, the Society’s Council emphasised last week.

Initially in draft form, the RPSGB will invite comments and feedback before publishing a final version for England and Wales .

Pharmacist fined for contract fraud

A pharmacist from Walsall was convicted last week of fraud after he falsified land registry papers to secure a pharmacy contract in Dudley .

Mazair Iqbal was fined £6,000 for two charges of forgery and ordered to pay £400 prosecution costs. He now faces disciplinary proceedings before the RPSGB.

Dudley Beacon and Castle PCT awarded Mr Iqbal a contract to run an NHS pharmacy service after he claimed that he owned a property in the area where the pharmacy was commissioned to be run from.

But investigation by the PCT’s counter fraud specialist and the NHS Counter Fraud Service revealed that the land registry documents he had presented to the contract panel were forgeries. Mr Iqbal, who already runs three pharmacies in and around Birmingham , pleaded guilty at Dudley Magistrate’s Court.

RPSGB issues technician registration packs

Application packs for pharmacy technicians wishing to register with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in preparation for the opening of the voluntary register of pharmacy technicians next month are now available.

Prospective applicants can obtain packs in four ways:

• Emailing a request for an electronic or paper copy to pharmacytechnician@rpsgb.org
• Telephoning the Society’s registration department on 020 7572 2322
• Writing to: Registration Section, RPSGB, 1 Lambeth High Street , London SE1 7JN
• Downloading from www.rpsgb.org/pharmacysupportstaff

Forms for technicians who qualified outside the UK will be available in early 2005.

Assistant courses accredited by CPP

The College of Pharmacy Practice has provisionally accredited three courses that have been developed to meet the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s minimum competence requirements for assistant training.

Final approval will be granted to all three courses once CPP-recommended changes have been made to the course material and administration arrangements. The dispenser courses are run by Buttercups Training Ltd, Lloydspharmacy and the National Pharmaceutical Association.

The announcement means pharmacy staff will have a choice as to whether they wish to study one of the CPP endorsed courses, or complete a Pharmacy Services S/NVQ level 2 qualification. The Society’s minimum competence requirements come into effect next month.

AZ lists PPRS cuts

AstraZeneca is reducing the prices of three brands, following the recent Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme announcement.

To comply with the 7 per cent price reduction agreed, the affected products (with new prices and savings) are: Zoladex 3.6mg Safe System (£84.14, 31 per cent), Zoladex MA 10.8mg Safe System (£267.48, 27 per cent), Arimidex tablets (£68.56, 18 per cent), Nexium 40mg 28’s (£25.19, 12 per cent), Nexium 40mg HP 28’s (£25.19, 12 per cent), and Nexium 40mg HP 7’s (£6.30, 12 per cent).

The changes will be effective from January 1. For more information, contact the AstraZeneca customer services team on 01582 837837.

PPA to close by October

The Prescription Pricing Authority will be dissolved by October 1 as part of the Department of Health’s Arm’s Length Bodies review.

Along with the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service, the Dental Practice Board and the NHS Pensions Agency, the PPA will be replaced by the NHS Business Services Authority. This organisation will represent the main processing facility for payment and reimbursement of NHS employees and patients.

The review will also see the Family Health Services Appeal Authority and Public Health Laboratory Service disband by April 1. Further, NHS Direct will be appraised to better meet the needs of the NHS by April 2006.

The moves were published as part of the implementation framework for the DoH ALB’s review last week. Health secretary John Reid said reducing the number of organisations from 38 to 20 would save £500 million by 2007-08, improve efficiency and reduce bureaucracy. In turn, frontline NHS staff would be less burdened with administrative duties, and patients would benefit from extra resources and services, he added.


For more information:
www.dh.gov.uk/publications

First LIFT centre opens

The first health centre funded via the NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust initiative opened in East London last Friday.

The £4.9million LIFT premises in Church Road , Newham, currently house three GP practices, health visitors and other health and social care professionals. When fully operational next spring, the centre will incorporate a pharmacy, dentists, optometrists, a cardiology clinic, X-ray facilities, pathology services and a café.

At the launch, health secretary John Reid said: “These new super surgeries will provide some of the most modern family doctor facilities anywhere in the country. NHS patients will be able to access a wide range of services right on their doorsteps, all under one roof.

“It’s part of the largest and most sustained programmes of modernisation of primary care premises in the history of the NHS. This Government is determined to tackle health inequalities. These surgeries target new resources to the poorest communities. The fantastic new facilities will also help attract some of the finest GPs to Britain ’s deprived areas where they are most needed.”

Plans for pharmacy on public health agenda

The Government will put in place measures to make the most of pharmacists’ contribution to public health, its White Paper for England pledged this week.

“Working at the heart of the communities they serve, [pharmacists] have real opportunities to offer health messages and advice on issues such as diet, physical activity, alcohol, stopping smoking and looking after our own ailments ourselves,” says the Choosing Health document.

Further, the strategy for pharmaceutical public health, to be published next year, will show how pharmacy can contribute and will propose new services

Shake-up planned for MHRA

Health minister Lord Warner has announced radical changes to the UK medicines regulatory body to make it more open and transparent.

Members of the MHRA’s committees will be subject to stricter controls over possible conflicts of interest under the proposed new legislation.

Chairmen and members of the new commission – a merger between the Committee on Safety of Medicines and the Medicines Commission – will not be allowed to hold interests in the pharmaceutical industry. They will be held accountable to a revised code of practice, on which the MHRA has opened a consultation. This move is “to ensure impartial advice is given on regulation of medicines”.

The new commission, provisionally called the Committee for Safety and Efficacy of Medicines, will advise ministers on regulatory matters for human medicines. Its remit will be to exercise judgement based on medical and scientific evidence, but representing a “wider risk-benefit judgement”.

Plans for pharmacy on public health agenda

The Government will put in place measures to make the most of pharmacists’ contribution to public health, its White Paper for England pledged this week.

“Working at the heart of the communities they serve, [pharmacists] have real opportunities to offer health messages and advice on issues such as diet, physical activity, alcohol, stopping smoking and looking after our own ailments ourselves,” says the Choosing Health document.

Further, the strategy for pharmaceutical public health, to be published next year, will show how pharmacy can contribute and will propose new services

Drug reps likely to target pharmacists who prescribe

Pharmacists and their staff are likely to be increasingly targeted by the pharmaceutical industry as more achieve independent prescribing status, MPs heard last week.

As more pharmacists become involved in prescribing, drug representatives might approach them, Rob Darracott, RPSGB corporate and strategic development director told a Commons’ health select committee last week. NPA chief executive John D’Arcy agreed and added that it was early days for pharmacist prescribing and “no doubt [drugs representatives] will have some influence”.

NHS fraud busters seek compensation

The five pharmaceutical companies suspected of price-fixing in relation to ranitidine are facing damages of £94 million, the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service has announced.

This comprises a claimed loss of £69,252,415 and interest of £25,201,902.
The secretary of state for health, the Prescription Pricing Authority and the 28 English strategic health authorities filed the formal assessment of damages relating to the sale and supply of ranitidine in the High Court on October 28.

The companies facing the action are Generics UK Ltd, Ranbaxy UK Ltd, Norton Healthcare Ltd, Norton Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Kent Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Boots offers points on scripts

Boots The Chemists claims it is not acting unprofessionally in offering Advantage Card points to patients signing up for its prescription collection service.

The company is targeting a “limited number” of customers aged over 60 with a voucher offering 250 points (equivalent to about £2.50) to join the service.
A Boots spokeswoman said: “Patients retain absolute freedom to use the pharmacy of their choice for their prescriptions.” No prescription is needed to register.

Lynsey Balmer, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s head of professional ethics, said the Code of Ethics does not specifically prohibit the offer of a gift or reward to patients who elect to use a particular service.