From small acorns…The PDA union grows

With roots firmly established, the PDAlaunches a pharmacist union as the nextstep of its development.

insightthe magazine of the pharmacists’ defence association

Winter 2007

hospital

pharmacist

edition

The PDA union special - pages 7-10

insidethisissue…

The PDA AnnualConference 2008

Join us for the conference inBirmingham on Sunday April27th

The PDA is principalsponsor, BPC 2007

The PDA plays a major role inthis year’s event.

3» 11» Working togetherwith the Guild?

A proposal for PDA and theGuild to work closely togetherhas been tabled.

15»

2 | INSIGHT |Chairman’s Letter|

Chairman’s letterby Mark Koziol.

The PDA Union - an update.Following considerable support from PDA membersand a significant amount of consultation (via focusgroups, surveys and meetings), since early 2007, the PDA has been working onthe process of applying for union status.

By early 2008, this process will be substantially completed. The newly createdunion will enjoy access to employment disputes in ways which it has neverenjoyed before. It will be legally entitled to consultation rights with employers; itwill also be able to influence government and other bodies important to thehospital pharmacist agenda.

From that moment on, hospital pharmacists will not only have their interestssupported by a (substantially insured) defence association, they will simulta-neously have a union exclusive to pharmacists, which is staffed with a full-timecomplement of experienced pharmacists and lawyers. The PDA union will nothave to compete with the priorities of any large parent union. The sole role ofthe PDA union will be to look after the interests of its pharmacist members. Inaddition to this, PDA membership will also provide a very comprehensive andwide range of additional benefits that are truly beneficial to practicing pharma-cists. All of this will be provided at a cost of less than £100 per year for hospitalpharmacists.

If you are already a member of the PDA, but have not yet opted to take upunion membership at no extra cost, then you should complete your conversionform as soon as possible. This will entitle you to have an important say in thedirection of the PDA union because you will either be able to stand for theforthcoming election to the national executive, or you will be able to vote for col-leagues who have put themselves forward. If you are not in PDA membership atall, then we urge you to join now.

A detailed description of how the process of unionisation will be undertaken iscontained in the centre-fold section of this magazine.

Developments like this do not come too often in pharmacy. I invite you to takepart because together we can improve the lot of the hospital pharmacist.

Insidethis issue…

Don’t forget!You can download the Insight onlinewww.the-pda.org/publications/pub_insight1.html

4-5

News

(Un)Civil RecoveryAn employee is hit for costs by employer.

At the BPCA report on this year’s conference.

A night in the LordsThe pharmacists and pharmacy technicians order.

Working with the Guild?The door is open to further dialogue.

The PDA UnionA four page special. Everything you need to know!

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The PDA Advisory Board…

Dr. Gordon Appelbe,LLB, PhD, MSc, FRPharmS

Elizabeth Doran, MRPharmS

Dr. John Farwell, FRPharmS

Richard Flynn, MRPharmS

Bob Gartside, FRPharmS

Dr Duncan Jenkins,MSc, PhD, MRPharmS

Diane Langleben, MRPharmS

Alan Nathan, FRPharmS

Shenaz Patel, MRPharmS

Graham Southall-Edwards,MA(law), LLM, B.Pharm, MRPharmS

Paul Taylor, LLB (hons)

Professor Joy Wingfield,LLM, Mphil, FCPP, FRPharmS

www.the-pda.orgMark Koziol, Chairman, The PDA

| 3INSIGHT|Conference news|

RISKRESPONSIBILITYREPRESENTATIONUniting to protect pharmacists and patients

THE ANNUALPDACONFERENCEWHYNOT LOG ONAT: WWW.CONFERENCEEVENT.COM

SUNDAY 27TH APRIL. BIRMINGHAM.

As the role of pharmacist becomes more wide ranging and demanding, the riskinherently associated with the performance of these new roles increases. AccreditedChecking Technicians are supposed to free up pharmacists time, but will adelegation of tasks increase the risks for pharmacists?

RESPONSIBILITY The Health Act has proposed that there is now to be a responsible pharmacist whowill be held legally accountable for what goes on in a pharmacy, whether thepharmacist is present or not. However, who will take responsibility if a registeredtechnician or an Accredited Checking Technician makes an error?

REPRESENTATION This conference will be the first event following on from the creation of the PDA Unionand the election of its first officials. Come and find out first hand what are likely to bethe first issues that the new PDA union plans to tackle on behalf of its members. Yourviews will be sought and your opinions greatly welcomed.

RISK

4 | INSIGHT |News|

newsnewsFind out what’s happening…

Fees; Look after the most disadvantaged PDA tells Society.“Any civilised society must look after its

least advantaged members; in this respect,semi-retired/part-time, newly-qualified phar-macists and those on maternity leave arelikely to be under a greater financial burdenthan established pharmacists. Consequently,any fee increases should reflect this issue.”

This is what the PDA stated in its submissionto the Society’s membership fees consultation,and that “it disagreed with the principle that anyfee increases should automatically be applied insimilar proportions to all sectors of the member-ship”. In a hard-hitting response, the PDA toldthe Society that the financial deficit caused by

the “pension gap” should be removed fromconsideration when setting the level of fees, and

should be bridged by the sale of some of theSociety’s assets. The PDA was supportive of theSociety view that the costs of separation intotwo distinct bodies should be borne by the gov-ernment. However, the PDA went on to urgethat before any kind of fee increase requirementwas placed upon members, the RPSGB shouldfirst look to review critically the largely unneces-sary and burdensome processes used by thefitness to practice directorate in its handling ofdisciplinary cases in order to prevent any furthersignificant waste of members’ fees.The full press release is available on the PDAwebsite.

Backing ‘Meth’ and Psuedephedrine Awareness ProgrammeIn the light of recent proposals from the Medi-

cines and Healthcare products RegulatoryAgency (MHRA) to retain medicines containingpseudoephedrine and ephedrine in the phar-macy-only (P) category, the PDA has beenworking on its members behalf to source a credi-ble resource for them to use to keep updated onthis key public health issue for UK pharmacy.

MethGuard UK is the definitive methylam-phetamine-awareness programme for

pharmacyteams. It hasbeen devel-oped with input

from pharmacy practice experts, and other keystakeholders, including law enforcers, manufac-turers of OTC medicines and the MHRA itself tohelp combat the threat and public health risksposed by the small-scale domestic manufactureof methylamphetamine (meth) from P medicinescontaining pseudoephedrine and ephedrine.

The challenge of retaining P status for medi-cines containing pseudoephedrine andephedrine is significant. Rejection of proposalsby pharmacists to the MHRA would havespelled a vote of no confidence in the profes-sion as the custodians of medicines.

Mark Pitt, the PDA membership services

manager, said, “We believe in the principle thatpharmacists are the best equipped health pro-fessionals to ensure the safe supply of amedicine which, although it could be subjectto abuse, is otherwise an efficacious and animportant part of the pharmacist’s portfolio torecommend for minor ailments. Increased reg-ulation shows lack of respect and trust in thepharmacy profession to ensure both the safesupply of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine aswell as restricting its availability. Excessive reg-ulation is not the answer in this particularcase”.

The pharmacy profession now has 24 monthsto prove that it can reduce the sale of pseu-doephedrine and ephedrine to abusers.

The MHRA sees the completion of awarenessprogrammes by pharmacists as a key part ofthe implementation process.

Pharmacists are being encouraged by manyfactions to play a part in ensuring they and theirsupport staff are up to date with this key publichealth challenge for the profession so that thepharmacy sector can demonstrate to regulatorsand government that it has taken this problemseriously, and is delivering on its promise toraise awareness and to implement fully the non-statutory measures it is proposing.

The MethGuard programme is an informativeprogramme that takes no more than half anhour of self-study to complete. It is availablefrom the PDA online at www.the-pda.org at acost of just £5.00.“With access to over 12,000 pharmacist

members, many of whom are locums who caneasily be overlooked in these initiatives,” saidMr Pitt, “We wholeheartedly support this proj-ect which will develop competence andheighten pharmacists’ awareness in the super-vision of the sale of these products”.

He urged PDA members to “sign up” today,and show that they are serious in addressingthis key pharmacy public health and safetyissue head on.

Some pharmacists on maternity leave may face afinancial burden in paying the increased fees.

The PDA believes that pharmacists are the bestequipped to ensure the safe upply of this medicine

The recent press frenzy regarding pharma-cists’ right to refuse the supply of emergencyhormonal contraception on grounds of con-science took a nasty twist recently andstimulated a complaint to Ofcom [the independ-ent regulator and competition authority for UKcommunications] by the PDA.

This was following a complaint made by awoman to a local radio station in Nottinghamwho widely reported it in a news piece. The bul-letin stated:“The 37-year-old, who didn't want to be

named, tried to buy the pill in [a supermarketpharmacy] on Tuesday but was told the phar-macist on duty wouldn't prescribe it because hewas a Muslim”.

The company responded by supporting thepharmacist and his right to do so.

As a result of the news broadcast, a memberof the public came into the store and requestedthat the following message be passed on to thepharmacist: “We're in England and he shouldbe doing things our way now”. The pharmacistwho was acting as a locum at the time wasobviously shocked by this reaction; he deniesthat his religious background was conveyed tothe customer and ensured that another pharma-cist due to relieve him from his shift, dealt withher within 10 minutes.

The PDA complained to the station on behalfof the member expressing concerns that thenews item had misrepresented the facts of thematter and that the broadcast had generatedracial tension and fuelled hostility towards Mus-lims. It was pointed out to the broadcasters thathis faith or ethnic background is irrelevant to

the matter and it was never disclosed to thepatient by him.

The PDA is of the belief that the radio stationtreated the complaint with disdain because itrefused to answer any questions put to it; acomplaint has since been lodged with the regu-lator, Ofcom.The PDA awaits the response.

The PDA beleives that the report misrepresentedthe facts and had generated racial tension towardsMuslims.

EHC; an official complaint is made to OFCOM.

| 5INSIGHT|News|

Members who would like to contribute theircontribute:

PDA rebukes FtP for issuing ‘inappropriate’ Suspension OrdersSince 1 April 2007, the RPSGB, under new

regulations, can now make applications to thevarious new Statutory Committees for InterimOrders to be made against pharmacists, includ-ing Orders suspending their registration withimmediate effect. The making of such ordersusually follows a hearing for which the pharma-cist often has as little as three weeks to prepare;the Society on the other hand can have beenplanning and preparing to make the applicationfor months or even years, unbeknown to thepharmacist. The sole purpose of the hearingshould be to determine whether an interimOrder should be made so as to protect the pub-lic from a pharmacist at a time when there arevery serious allegations being made there areconcerns about his or her fitness to practise,which have yet to be determined There could bea need to prevent the pharmacist practising,until such time as these (allegations or con-cerns) can be properly and fully considered.

In a recent case, a member removed herselffrom the practising Register on learning thatallegations had been made and therebyremoved the threat to the public, because shewas then unable to practice. The PDA was con-cerned that the particular Statutory Committee,in making an Interim Suspension Order, despitethe PDA’s protests had completely misdirecteditself, acted beyond its powers and failed toconsider the interests of the registrant.

The committee stated in its determination: “Webelieved a very firm and clear message neededto be sent to both the profession and the publicthat circumstances such as these would betreated with the utmost seriousness by theCommittee.”

In his letter to the director of fitness to practise(FtP), John Murphy, the PDA director, wrote: “Ibelieve that the only function of the Committeeat a hearing to consider an application for anInterim Order (as against its function at any final

hearing about the charges against the regis-trant) is to take action, if necessary, to separatethe public from the risk of the registrant continu-ing to practice; that could (and should) havebeen achieved simply by an Interim Order withconditions controlling return to the practicingRegister and not by a suspension”.

Mr Murphy put the FtP on notice that if theSociety continues to request Statutory Commit-tees to impose Interim Suspension Orders incircumstances where the PDA believes that theyare inappropriate or unnecessary, it will continueto oppose their making, and should theseorders nonetheless be made, the PDA willadvise its members to appeal through theCourts. He added: “The PDA is not afraid toadvise and support its members in takingsuch action if it is appropriate and is not andwill not be deterred by threats of orders forcosts being sought or obtained against it bythe Society”.

The PDA is offering the opportunity for sixmembers to spend a week each at its head-quarters between January and March 2008.

The scheme is designed to give members aunique insight into the workings of PDA andwhilst they are learning about the organisationand its activities, they will be an integral memberof the ‘team’.

Announcing the scheme, John Murphy theDirector of PDA said “When we try to tell ourmembers what we do and some of the caseswe deal with on a daily basis they are veryinterested. We believe that if they experiencethem first hand they will be absolutely amazedat the diversity and the depth we have to go to

help our members. I can guarantee they willhave an experience in their working life thatthey have never had anywhere else and it willraise their awareness of some of the riskspharmacists are exposed to”.

The scheme will offer six people the chance tospend a full week in the PDA headquarters withtravel and accommodation expenses covered.“We are always on the look out for pharma-

cists who might want to get involved in PDAactivity in the future so now is a good time togive some of those people, a taster. Whichever way you look at it they can’t lose. It’s afantastic opportunity to add to their CPD port-folio”, John said.

Pharmacists who are interested shouldsend their CV’s to:

Katherine Minchin c/o the PDA,The Old Fire Station,BirminghamB1 3EA

or email enquiries@the-pda.org,together with an accompanying letter stat-ing why they are interested and what youthink you will gain from the experience.

moreinfo:

www.the-pda.org

news

PDA offers work experience to its members.

For those unfamiliar with the term, it is the useof civil legislation by a company to recover costsand losses directly from a wrongdoer who hascaused it to suffer them. The burden of proof incivil law is lower than in criminal cases and it iseasier to succeed with a claim under the legaltests applied in civil law. Shoplifting and theftfrom retailers is a significant problem for retailpharmacy and civil recovery is mainly usedagainst offenders, apprehended by security staff,who have been reported to the police and prose-cuted through the criminal courts. Then therecan be little argument that the person will beliable under civil proceedings if a criminal casehas already been proved. It is hard to argueagainst the logic of this approach, although itsdeterrent value on some offenders with limitedmeans to pay such costs is debatable.

Alarming developmentsLess well known is the extension of this system

to ex-employees who have been through disci-plinary action and left employment. At least onemajor pharmacy multiple uses civil recovery pro-cedures against its own ex-employees. This ishappening in circumstances where allegations ofwrongdoing are vigorously denied and there hasbeen no police involvement or prosecution. Civilrecovery companies, acting as agents for theemployers, claim that existing case law hasestablished the principles of civil recovery proce-dures in these circumstances. In one such case,one large pharmacy multiple is threatening court

action to recover security expenses, manage-ment and administration costs running intoseveral thousands of pounds following the dis-missal of a pharmacist. The argument being thatthis expenditure was incurred as a result of theactions of the pharmacist.

This development is of great concern for anumber of reasons:• Even if the employee subsequently challenges

any dismissal through an employment tribunal,the company only needs to demonstrate that itwent through a reasonable investigation(among other things) and followed a definedprocess, rather than prove the conclusion ofthe investigation was correct, in order todefend the claim. Most pharmacists find iteasy to find alternative work and seldom seek

redress through employment tribunals. ThePDA is dealing with cases where internal com-pany investigations are woefully inadequateand the conclusions reached are questionableor marginal.

• Employers have a statutory duty to operate adisciplinary process and investigate employ-ees where necessary. The cost of doing so ispart of operational business expenditure andnot something the employer can opt out ofdoing. Employees also have a right to presenttheir version of events and expect that a thor-ough investigation will take place. It isalarming that a person exercising his or herlegal entitlement during the investigation, can

then be pursued through the courts for thecosts of doing so.

• If employers are able to recover losses in thismanner, the next step can well be to claimback costs from existing employees after disci-plining them for minor misdemeanours or eventake action to recover the costs of trainingpharmacists who resign shortly after receivingsuch training.

Advice to pharmacistsThe PDA recommends that:• Employees should be very cautious before

signing documents acknowledging that civilrecovery action can be taken against them.Pharmacists should ask for written clarificationof the circumstances in which this policy willbe applied and PDA members can contactone of our employment lawyers for specialistadvice in this area.

• Expert legal advice should be taken if there areany allegations of a criminal nature beingmade during an internal investigation. Thismay include theft, fraud or dishonesty. Ill-advised comments or coerced admissions atthe early stages of an investigation can beused later in support of a criminal/civil prose-cution and as evidence presented during aprofessional disciplinary hearing into a phar-macist’s fitness to practise. It is unwise to relyon company assurances about how the matterwill be handled or to take amateur advice fromwell meaning colleagues.

• PDA members who are subjected to civilrecovery procedures should contact the PDAfor advice before responding to formal letterssent in pursuit of costs.

SummaryLegal advisors at the PDA are of the opinion

that the case law being used against pharma-cists by civil recovery companies is open toquestion. The Association is willing to challengethese companies in order to protect the posi-tion of all our members.

6 | INSIGHT |Legal knowledge|

(Un)CivilRecovery

In one such case, one large pharmacymultiple is threatening court action torecover security expenses,management and administration costsrunning into several thousands ofpounds following the dismissal of apharmacist…

It’s possible that some pharmacists have come across the expression “civil recovery”,

particularly those who work in the retail sector for the major pharmacy multiples.

| 7INSIGHT|The PDA Union Special Feature|

1. Providing direct support tomembers in employment discipli-nary meetings.Union status will enable the PDA tohave direct access to some of themore serious employment discipli-nary matters. This will be hugelyadvantageous to PDA membersbecause historically, and particularlyin the most serious cases, the PDA,being a defence association, hasbeen barred from accompanying itsmembers to disciplinary meetings byemployers. The grounds that enableemployers to prohibit PDA atten-dance are that the PDA is neither awork colleague of the member, noris it a union; soon we will be remov-ing such grounds for objection.

2. Being entitled to full consulta-tion rights with our membersemployers.Since the launch of the PDA in2003, some of the UK’s largestpharmacy employers have opted toact as though the PDA does noteven exist. Where membership lev-els are sufficient, unionisation willprovide the PDA with a legal basisfor consultation and, in certaincases, negotiation rights. Thismeans that employers will need toconsult, and where necessarynegotiate with the PDA on mattersthat effect the terms and conditionsof employment of PDA members.

3. Unionisation will lead to a sig-nificant democratisation of thePDA.Elections will result in many morecommitted individuals beinginvolved in the operational affairs ofthe PDA. This will significantlyincrease the PDA’s capacity todevelop its proactive developmen-tal agenda and it will be able to dothis simultaneously across all mem-ber areas, e.g. community, hospital,locum, primary care pharmacy andalso student and pre-reg.

4. Union status will provide thePDA with a more significant plat-form.

The PDA will be able to consultdirectly with the government andother bodies directly relevant to thepharmacist agenda. This meansthat the PDA will be strategically wellplaced to deal with some of themore fundamental concerns held bya large number of employee andlocum pharmacists. It could alsoenable applications for researchgrants to provide funding to sub-stantiate the PDA’s concerns with amore formal evidence base.

There are many reasons for this unionisation development,but the four primary ones are:

Following a number of surveys, six focus group meetings, debatesat two successive PDA annual conferences and numerous lettersand emails of support, the decision to establish the PDA union wastaken in early 2007.

Since then, much preparatory work has been undertaken. Unionlegislation has been studied and put into effect, consultations withrelevant legal and union advisors have been held, and now, the finalstages of the process are being put into place.

Thecreationof thePDAunion

continues over…

8 | INSIGHT |The PDA Union Special Feature|

It will be important not only to ensure involve-ment, but also to make sure that eachmembership constituency has its interests prop-erly looked after. That is why much attention hasbeen paid to ensuring that the structure of theunion will be fit for this purpose. It is felt that thefollowing structure will form a solid foundation onwhich to build.

The structure of the unionThe union will be operated by an 11-person

national executive comprising two groups:

1. Six officersThis will be composed of a general secretary,

two assistant general secretaries, treasurer, com-munications officer and one other officer.

These individuals will be employed offi-cers of the union and will be responsible fordelivering day-to-day operations. It will be their jobto ensure that members are supported if theyencounter difficulties with their employment. Theywill also largely guide the general direction of theunion and ensure that it acts within its constitutionand also that it is in line with policy as decided bymembers.

2. Five management grouprepresentatives

This will be composed of one representativefrom each of the following membership groups:community employee, hospital employee, primary

care and specialist, locum and student/pre-reg.These individuals will be national executive

members and it will be their role to ensure thatmatters of particular concern to their constituencywill always be dealt with at national executivemeetings. Each of the representatives will almost

certainly be directly involved in any specific proj-ects relating to their constituency. Additionally,they will also be responsible for feeding backissues to their management groups.

The management groupsEach constituency within the overall PDA

union (e.g. community employee, hospi-tal, etc) will be able to elect its own

management group to manageits specific concerns. Each

management group will bemade up specifically of mem-bers of that group. So, for

example, the managementgroup for locums will only be

made up of locum pharmacists.The number of places in each man-

agement group will depend on thenumber of union members within that group.

For example, if there are 3,000 locums in PDAunion membership and every 250 members enti-tles one seat on the management group, thenlocums will be able to elect up to 12 of theirmembers to sit on the management group.

Once the members have elected their man-agement group representatives, then thoserepresentatives will select from among them-selves the person whom they wish to be theirmanagement group representative; it is this per-

son who will take a seat on the national execu-tive.

Management group members will be expectedto bring constantly to the fore issues of impor-tance to their constituency. In addition to this, theywill also be expected to organise activities for

members in their particular constituency such asmeetings, newsletters, surveys and consultations.

The election processFull members of the PDA who have opted to

take up their PDA union membership by 7thDecember will be entitled to both stand for andvote in the election. Those members wishing tostand for election will need to go through a nomi-nation process - this has been relaxed for the firstset of elections. In future elections, the executivemay recommend that a more comprehensivenomination process is used. The closing date fornominations will be 21st December 2007.

Once the nomination process has closed, ashort period will follow to allow all candidates toprepare their election statements and biogra-phies.

In the New Year, all members will be sent theballot forms and they will be entitled to vote forboth their executive officers and also representa-tives of their management group.

Tenure of officeElections for executive officers will be held

every five years, and those for membershipgroup representatives will be held every threeyears, apart from the student/ pre-reg post whichbe held biennially.

Howwill it operate?

Management group representatives may be involvedin specific projects relating to their constituency.

Members interested in taking part will find more information on

Details found on the website will include:

» A constitution » A role specification » Where to apply for a nomination form

The success of the union can only be measured over time, but it will largely depend

upon both the number and the quality of people that will actively play a part.

{ }

| 9INSIGHT|The PDA Union Special Feature|

Thestructure of theUnion…

What happensnext?Pharmacists may join the PDA union at any time, however, those wanting to either stand in, or vote in the forthcom-ing elections (to be held early in the New Year) will have until 7th December to become PDA union members.

Those PDA union members who are interested in putting themselves forward for any of the posts described can doso by requesting an election pack which is available from the election scrutineers upon request. This will contain anomination paper and details as to how to become nominated. This needs to be returned to the scrutineers by 21stDecember 2007. Details of the job descriptions for each of the posts are also available on www.the-pda.org

All PDA union members will receive a biography of all candidates and election ballots early in the New Year. The rulesfor the election will also be available on www.the-pda.org.

The election process will last for four weeks and the results will be announced by the independent scrutineers inFebruary 2008.

The new national executive and management groups will then have two months to organize themselves in time forthe inaugural PDA union conference which will be held in Birmingham on Sunday April 27th.

one.

two.

three.

four.

five.

continues over…

7th December 2007Deadline for membership

21st December 2007Deadline for nominations

14th January 20084 week election commences

27th April 2008PDA Annual conference

10 | INSIGHT |The PDA Union Special Feature|

Q1. WILL A PDA REPRESENTATIVE BEPHYSICALLY PRESENT AT EVERYSINGLE EMPLOYMENT DISCIPLINARYMEETING?

ANSWER: No two employment disciplinary meetings are

the same, some are of a very serious nature, others are less

serious. In many instances, it will be entirely appropriate for the

PDA to simply advise a member on how best to prepare for a

meeting e.g. when a meeting is called to discuss lateness

following a delayed train. It is the more serious incidents that will

deserve direct support as often they will not only have job

threatening repercussions but can also have further professional

disciplinary consequences e.g. the loss of controlled drugs from the

dispensary or a serious dispensing error that led to the hospitalisation of a

patient. In these more serious cases, the PDA will want to have a direct

involvement in these disciplinary meetings alongside the PDA member, as

a well reasoned representation can have the effect of exonerating or at

least mitigating the level of blame for the PDA member and hence

lessening the potential of further consequences to the member.

Q2. WHAT IF I JUST WANT TO BE A MEMBER OF THEPHARMACISTS’ DEFENCE ASSOCIATION AND NOTBE A PART OF THE UNION OR VICE VERSA?ANSWER: The PDA listened very carefully to what the members said

during the extensive consultation and focus group meetings.

Consequently, we know how important it is to always give the members a

choice in this matter. Any pharmacist who joins the PDA will have the

option to opt out of the union aspect. In this instance, they will be entitled

to all of the current wide ranging benefits provided by the defence

association, however, those who do choose to join, will be entitled to the

additional benefits of union membership as described. Equally,

pharmacists can choose to join the union only and not enjoy any of the

defence association benefits.

Q3. HOW MUCH WILL IT COST TO JOIN THE UNION?ANSWER: PDA has successfully argued with the insurance

underwriters that the risks of employment disputes for union members will

be lower. Consequently, the risks for claims in this respect will be reduced.

As a result, the PDA has persuaded them to lower the insurance premiums

for PDA union members. In turn, the PDA will allocate this reduction as a

payment of the union fees. Consequently, there will be no additional cost in

the overall PDA membership fee for those FULL members who choose the

union option.

Q4. WHAT IF MY EMPLOYER FINDS OUT THAT I AM AUNION MEMBER?ANSWER: It will be illegal for your employer to take action or

discriminate against you if he learns that you are a union member. The

penalties for such discrimination are significant.

Q5. IF I CHOSE TO STAND FORELECTION TO THE EXECUTIVE OF THE PDA

UNION, HOW MUCH OF MY TIME WOULD THISTAKE?ANSWER: The job of General Secretary and Assistant General

Secretary are full time posts. The rest of the Executive committee posts

would probably be undertaken on a part-time basis. Membership of the

Management Group would be a much more unpredictable affair. Generally,

Management Group committee members would be employed in their

relevant sector and would undertake any PDA activities on an occassional

basis. The amount of time they would devote would depend on what

extent they were keen to get involved. For example, they may want to

undertake project work important to their constituency, they may want to

write a newsletter or even to organise meetings/conferences for members.

The Membership Group representative would be expected to manage

his/her committee and also to attend national executive meetings which

would usually occur at least three times a year.

Q6. IF I AM A SELF-EMPLOYED LOCUM – HOW WILLUNION MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT ME?ANSWER: There are many ways in which a PDA Union will be able to

benefit self employed locums, for example;

• Establishing a more appropriate national tariff for locum fees.

• Establishing a more acceptable national policy for time frames on locum

booking cancellations.

• Arguing for proper staffing levels at pharmacies where locums work.

• Establishing a specialist fees arrangement for locums who undertake

advanced and enhanced services.

• To resolve anomalies around payment of traveling expenses that currently

exist between the various pharmacy multiples.

These benefits are just a start – many more may be possible, but this will

largely depend on the quality of the individuals elected to the locum man-

agement group,

Members wanting any more information, should contact the pda on

0121 694 7000 or www.the-pda.org

Questions andAnswers…We understand that you may have many more questions about the Union, so we

hope that these answer at least some of them!

| 11INSIGHT|The PDA at the BPC 2007|

He also praised its contribution to the BPC inparticular, as a principal sponsor of the event. Atthe PDA reception Mr Patel acknowledged thatthe nature of the work of the Society and the PDAmeant that the two organisations will often look atissues from different perspectives. He said: “It[The PDA] stands up for what it believes to bethe rights of pharmacists, and that should notbe seen as a bad thing for the profession; all ofus with open minds should welcome its fresh-

ness of ideas and the way it is prepared toquestion the status quo”.

The PDA had a significant input into the Con-ference; apart from its substantial presence atthe exhibition, the association hosted two highly

topical and important sessions. One looked at a“fair blame” culture and risk-managing dispens-ing errors; the other explored the Department ofHealth’s view on remote supervision, robustlychallenged by Mark Koziol of the PDA.

Mr Patel further acknowledged and thankedthe PDA for its role at the BPC. “Its contribution tothe conference sessions has been exceptional,”he said, “and they have worked closely with theconference organisers, and Society staff to bringmore community pharmacists to BPC, some-thing that I hold very dear to my heart”.

Elizabeth Taylor who won one of the free three-

day passes the PDA offered to its members said:“It was a great experience. I had always wantedto go to the BPC. I was one of the lucky ones;it’s a pity more grass-roots’ pharmacists can-not afford the time or the money to attend”.

AttheBPC…Hemant Patel, President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, praised

the PDA for the role it has played in pharmacy in general…

Apart from its substantial presence at the exhibition, thePDA hosted two highly topical and important sessions

continues over…

Dispensing errors could be reduced significantly claims the PDAJohn Murphy, director of the PDA, presented

delegates at the BPC with statistics showing thatas few as six groups of products account for 35%of all dispensing errors categorised as “wrongitem dispensed”. The most common errorsinvolved atenolol, amitriptyline and allopurinol. “Ifwe could raise pharmacists’ awareness of theproducts that account for such a large propor-tion of errors, we could make a significantimpact on patient safety,” he said.

Mr Murphy was speaking at a session hostedby the PDA and chaired by Olivia Timbs, editor ofThe Pharmaceutical Journal, entitled “Squaringthe circle – protecting pharmacists andpatients”. The topic explored the conundrum ofhow pharmacists can protect and risk-managetheir own vulnerability without compromising theprofessions’ responsibility to patients.

Dr Bruce Warner of the National Patient SafetyAgency balanced the advantages and disadvan-tages of no blame (or fair blame) culture. Heconcluded that organisations should encouragean open culture of reporting, and that investiga-tions should be geared towards understandingrather than punishing. This is also the strong viewthe PDA put forward when commenting on theSection 60 Order, submitting that it encouraged

the opposite. “There is a myth,” said Dr Warner,“that if we try harder or punish people, they willnever make any errors, but if we only blameand focus on the systems, then we are abro-gating our professional responsibilities”.

Professor Joy Wingfield pointed to the vulnera-bility of a pharmacist in today’s practisingenvironment. She informed the conference thata pharmacist can be the victim of ‘multiple jeop-ardy’, and that any single error could result in anyor possibly all of the following actions beingtaken against a pharmacist: civil claim, criminalprosecution, professional and employer discipli-nary sanctions. “Despite their employers’vicarious liability, it is wise for employees andessential for the self-employed to have theirown protection,” she said.

David Pruce, director of quality and standards,RPSGB, gave the conference some encourage-ment in disclosing the Society’s plans to helprehabilitate poor performers who should not, forwhat ever reason, be disciplined by their profes-sional body. “Regulation needs to encourageimprovement as well as dealing with problems,”Mr Pruce said. “And poor performance short ofdisciplinary offences needs fair assessmentand help for improvement.”

Commenting afterwards, Mr Murphy said, “Iwas pleased with the response to the session.Going forward, the PDA is committed to work-ing more closely with the Society and safety

agencies in the interests of our members andtheir patients”.Copies of the presentations areavailable on the PDA web site.

Mark Koziol - PDA Chairman, Hemant Pattel - RPSGB President, John Murphy - PDA Director

Good to see a full crowd enjoying thehospitatlities at the PDA Stand!

}{

Mark Koziol, Chairman of the PDA went head-to-head with Jeanette Howe of the Departmentof Health and architect of the new Health Billat a ‘Hot Topic’ debate staged at the BPC.

Ms Howe, in explaining the rationale behindthe introduction of the legislation, which wouldsee the concept of “personal control” bereplaced with the “responsible pharmacist”,believes that this legislation would bring moreclarity to any anomalies and confusion causedby the Medicines Act. The concept would allowstaff to sell and dispense medicines underagreed protocols in the pharmacist’s absence.She believes that the constraints imposed as aconsequence of previous legislation was “not fairto pharmacists”.

Mr Koziol, although welcoming the clarificationand concept of the responsible pharmacist,believes that there could be unintended conse-quences of the legislation. In particular, he feelsthat the legislation has not been thought throughwith respect to patient safety. “I can’t imaginethat any pharmacy without a pharmacist is assafe as a pharmacy with one,” he said. “Formany years we have been educating the public

to ‘ask your pharmacist’ and through this legis-lation we are in danger of dismantling all thegood work, and by default, allowing pharma-cies to open without a pharmacist beingaccessible.” He went on to state his concern thatremote supervision could be adopted as a cost-cutting exercise or to overcome labour shortages.

In demonstrating why allowing a pharmacist todelegate supervision from a remote location wouldsend the wrong message to the public, he askedthe audience to imagine they were passengers onan aeroplane. “Would you be happy to embark,”he asked, “if you knew that the pilot was notgoing with you even though you knew that therest of the staff were very nice?”.

Earlier in the week, at a keynote speech, BenBradshaw, Minister of State for Health Services,

told the conference that he felt that the govern-ment has laid the foundations for responsiblepharmacists to have their time freed up and somake better use of their training. He said that theAct would allow technicians to supervise certainaspects of dispensing. He also acknowledged thatpatient safety had to come first and there would bea phased approach to implementation. On hearingMr Bradshaw’s address, Mr Koziol commented:“The House of Lords has been given assur-ances in open parliamentary session that therewill be full consultation within the whole profes-sion before the regulations governing remotesupervision are agreed. I am delighted that hehas recognised that safety is paramount and ifhe is true to his word then I am confident thatwe will achieve our stated objectives”.

One of the hot topics at this year’s BPC was adiscussion on the White Paper Trust, Assur-ance and Safety - The Regulation of HealthProfessionals in the 21st Century

The future of pharmacy regulation and repre-sentation was under discussion at the BritishPharmaceutical Conference in September. Dur-

ing a ‘Hot topic’ debate, delegates heard aboutproposals for the future of the profession andwhat some representatives may want from it.

Keith Ridge, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer,explained that “pharmacy is changing, as ispatient care and the regulatory landscape”.New rules about regulation and fitness to practiceneed to be implemented to keep patient care atthe forefront of practice. The fact that mosthealthcare professionals operate safely shouldbe recognised. Any changing system of regula-tion should respect this quality within theprofession, Mr Ridge explained.

Mr Ridge went on to say that the current struc-ture of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of GreatBritain does not fit with the future of the profes-sion. The proposed General PharmaceuticalCouncil (GPhC) will be established with govern-ment support. This profession will need to be

supported by pharmacy leadership when itcomes to assessment, accreditation and deter-mining professional standards. Mr Ridgecontinued to explain that minimising risk and opti-mising patient care are the keys toprofessionalism. He also highlighted that profes-sional regulation should be about the

environment in which pharmacists are working.This is something that the PDA is particularlykeen to bring to the forefront of the representationagenda.

The RPSGB is developing its role in the fitness topractice arena and is gaining increased influenceover individuals’ eligibility to remain on the register,including taking sanctions against failing conductand health, as well as revalidation and CPD. “Reg-istration is about more than fees and discipline”,Mr Ridge explained. He also mentioned that workis ongoing to explore how leadership in the pro-fession could support the GPhC.

A welcomed splitThe split in the functions of the Society is wel-

comed by the PDA, as is the news that themembership should not have to fund it. It isimperative that the representation of the profes-

sion is separate from its regulation. The PDAbelieves that pharmacists have suffered for toolong - they have had no-one to represent theirinterests nor provide something to which theycan aspire. This view was echoed during thedebate. Leaders from specialist areas of the pro-fession were in agreement that such a bodyneeds to stand for the interests of the “ordinarymember” while also acknowledging the differentspecialities within the profession. Catherine Dug-gan from the UKCPA explained that there shouldbe recognition of all levels of pharmacists. This issomething that is key to the future of the profes-sion and Nigel Clarke, chair of the independentinquiry on the future of the professional body,invited pharmacists to take part in the consulta-tion process.

Future possibilitiesCommenting on the possibilities in the future,

Mark Koziol, PDA Chairman, said: “It is reassur-ing that the Chief Pharmacist is aware that thecurrent regulatory process needs to be re-vamped in order to recognise that the vastmajority of pharmacists are good practitioners. Ido hope that the Society’s fitness to practisedirectorate was listening because I believe thatsome of the methods that they have used in theregulation of pharmacists are seriouslydemeaning and are not only damaging to theprofession, but also to the public interest.”

Remote supervision: a step too far!

12 | INSIGHT |The PDA at the BPC 2007|

continued…

}{ Regulation should also be about the environment inwhich pharmacists are working

Registration is about more than fees and disciplinesays Chief Pharmacist

The Pharmacists and Pharmacy TechniciansOrder 2007 was debated at 6.31pm on Wednes-day 24 January 2007 in the House of Lords.Baroness Royall of Blaisdon rose to move, “Thatthe Grand Committee do report to the House thatit has considered the Pharmacists and PharmacyTechnicians Order 2007”. She added: “This orderhas been well researched, and has found broadfavour and support from those who are mostaffected by it”. Lord McColl of Dulwich said(before 6.45pm): “The Order has been the sub-ject of extensive consultation within the pharmacyprofession and outside it”. The Committeeadjourned at 6.58 pm.

A “straw poll” of 65 pharmacists I have visitedin the past year has revealed only two pharma-cists who knew anything much about a piece ofdelegated legislation that will probably affect andcontrol the working and professional lives (andfor that matter, increasingly, their personal lives)of most newly qualified pharmacists for the restof their careers until retirement (and evenbeyond).

Unlike primary legislation, which is theprocess of passing Acts of Parliament and whichcan involve week-long debates, delegated legis-lation is achieved by writing into Acts clausessuch as “The Minister may by Order make regu-lations for the regulation and control of theprofession of pharmacy and the protection of thegeneral public”. Powers of this type wereincluded in section 60 of the Health Act 1999,passed in the aftermath of the so-called “Ship-

man affair” and the numerous and burgeoningnumber of “Shipman inquiries” that followed it.Then silently the Minister took his pen and signedthe Order (known commonly as “the Section 60Order”), which came into force at the end ofMarch 2007, and more correctly named The

Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians Order2007, SI 2007 Nr. 289.

The PDA has been warning of this coming leg-islation for years and last year it sought to involveas many pharmacists in the relatively short “con-sultation process” as possible, with a view togetting as much of the Draft Statutory Instrumentamended for the benefit of pharmacists as itcould; but as usual, most pharmacists were justgoing about their daily business, oblivious to thedraconian powers that the Society was about toacquire and which it immediately started using,come April 2007.

The rise of the machineIn May 2006 I wrote a Broad Spectrum article

for The Pharmaceutical Journal [Pharm J,276;7400:564] in which I warned members of theSociety to beware of what I called “the rise of theregulatory machine”. The Society, throughMandie Lavin, responded and effectively called

me an “alarmist”; but if the alarm bells rang, itseems that almost nobody heard them and ifthey did, they did not take a blind bit of notice.

The result is that pharmacists are now virtuallystuck with the most venomous and potentiallydangerous system regulating their profession that

they could ever have imagined. One by one, theyare becoming the subject of the new powers asthe Society increasingly flexes its musclesthrough its freshly recruited army of lawyers. Theyhave largely replaced the previous pharmacistemployees, about whomI have heard it said thatthey “lacked objectivity because they empathisedwith the plight of their practicing colleagues”.

Presently, only a select few, who it seems wereon a “hit-list” of those that the Society “knewabout, but could not do anything about”, prior tothe new legislation, have felt the full force of this,as they have become the subject of applicationsto the Health or Discipline Committees for InterimOrders under Article 54 of SI 2007 Nr. 289 (“theOrder”). Readers can now go to the Society’swebsite where the “registrants” (the fashionablenew name for the Society’s members) concernedare detailed for all to see. It is a bit like “namingand shaming”, but of course, I must be politicallycorrect and say that it is not, but rather that it is

| 13INSIGHT|Regulation|

HalfanhourintheLords

by Graham Southall Edwards

MA (Law), LM, BPharm, MR.PharmS. Barrister / Pharmacist, PDA Advisory Board Member

In less than half an hour, the most dramatic and significant change to, and overhaul

of, legislation regulating the practice of pharmacy, and the repeal of the entire

Pharmacy Act 1954 was accomplished.

The rise of the regulatory machine;They can get a court order against your granny too…

continues over…

…one frostyJanuaryevening…one frostyJanuaryevening

}{

14| INSIGHT |Regulation|

about protecting the public. This is a mission thatBritain seems obsessed with, to the disproportion-ate exclusion of almost all other considerations,including, of course, the financial ones.

Ah yes . . . the financial ones: retention fees.Members will, after all, be learning of the newOrder, because next year and for years to come,through their retention fees payable to theRPSGB, they are going to be paying for this dis-proportionately costly, legalistic and frighteningnew system. It is a bit like the bank robbers beingasked to fund a pay rise for the Sweeney and toadd a bit more to double their numbers too.

I mention the Sweeney and you think of thepolice; you may ask yourself what that has got todo with pharmacy. Well, when you make a dis-pensing error, upset a customer who complainsabout your “professional attitude” or utter some“naughty words” in the evening in the local puband someone knows that you are a pharmacist,and the inspector wants to interview you about itall. He or she will read you your rights underCodes made under PACE, the Police and Crimi-nal Evidence Act 1984; then they tape theinterview, just as if you had been nicked red-handed in a bank robbery and very soon, even ifyou thought you were not a villain, you will befeeling like one. You will not (yet) be able to bearrested by the Society (they just presently getthe police to do that before an interview, if neces-sary) and you will generally be “free to leave theroom at any time”; most importantly, you will be“not obliged to say anything”. However if youchoose not to do so, they will tell you that youare in breach of the Code of Ethics because you

are not cooperating. Would not the police justlove a power like that? Just imagine if every villainwho said “no comment guv,” could then bebrought before the beak the next day and sentdown for being “uncooperative”. It would be acopper’s charter, which of course, is what theSection 60 Order is for the Society.

So what else can “they” do to you? If they thinkyou could be ill, they can get your medicalrecords without your permission. Once you aresubject to investigation by one of the four newStatutory Committees, they will serve you with aStatutory Notice demanding to know who youwork for; if you do not “come clean” within 14days, they will be off to the County Court for anOrder against you, plus the costs to boot. If youdefault, you could even get locked up.

Hand it over!The Society can even demand that anyone

whom they believe has information about youwhich it thinks is relevant to their inquiries, has todeliver it up. So if your granny has got a photo ofyou when you were younger holding the hand ofthe girl next door “inappropriately” and they thinkit is evidence that shows you may be a “risk tothe public”, they can demand that she hands itover; and yes, if she does not, they can get aCourt Order against your granny too!

There simply is not enough space here to gointo all the powers of the new legislation and theinquiries and the associated complex legalprocesses that pharmacists are now beingdragged into and having to pay for in legal feesand costs if they lose.

So where does the PDA come intoall this?

The PDA is an organisation that has tried tire-lessly to stop this legislation being enacted in itspresent form. Historically, the Society has nearlyalways got its own way with pharmacists and theonly “people” who have been able to argue suc-cessfully with it in the Courts have been thecompanies or others with sufficient money tospend on lawyers. On appeal, the Society hasoften been struck down, as with Boots in theHouse of Lords in 1952. But to get there youneed money and backing.

This is why every pharmacist needs the PDA;the Association is a bit like an umbrella: whenyou have it with you, you often find that you donot need it, but of course it is always there if youdo. Funny though, those really heavy thunder-storms always seem to hit you when you left yourbrolly in the hallway. Many pharmacists who arenot members of the PDA have found out onlywhen an “indictment” from the RPSGB of 150pages or more, (which may even be for some-thing as trivial as a claim that they wereoverheard laughing in the dispensary) has arrivedwith their morning post and now they face thou-sands of pounds of legal costs.

The coming thunderstorm…Ann Lewis wrote in The Pharmaceutical Jour-

nal on 25 August this year that “last year theSociety received 821 complaints against mem-bers”; I can promise you that many of these willgo on to be the subjects of complex and costlyinquiries in 2007/8/9.I urge you to join the PDA before you are out

in the thunderstorm without protection. I prom-ise you that you will never regret it!

The Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians Order 2007was debated in the House of Lords… }{

| 15INSIGHT|Employment|

They argue that the PDA should make anapproach to the Guild about some form ofmerger. The PDA has also been approached byseveral senior pharmacists and officials within theprofession arguing that such an arrangementwould make a lot of sense. It is for this reasonthat the PDA feels it needs to set the recordstraight.

In 2003, at a time before the PDA was actuallyestablished, the idea that the PDA should bedeveloping a working relationship with the Guildwas obvious to officers of the PDA. As a conse-quence, letters, emails and personal contactswere made with Guild executive members sug-gesting that some form of working relationshipshould be established.

It took almost a year and a half, however, tofinally secure a formal meeting with executive offi-cers. At this meeting, the PDA outlined the areaswhere the two organisations could work along-side each other for the benefit of the members ofeach organisation.

In essence, PDA officials felt that to benefitmembers, an ideal arrangement would be thatthe Guild, with its union status, local networksand its executive officers, was ideally placed tooperate the local meetings and develop nationalpolicy initiatives for Guild members. Meanwhile,the PDA with its full-time staff complement ofpharmacists and lawyers, and its extensive expe-rience of handling disputes, whether of aprofessional disciplinary or employment nature,criminal prosecution defence and civil claims,would provide the defence services.

In addition to this, the membership of the Guildwas in the region of 3,500 to 4,000 which isapproximately the same as the number of PDAmembers who work in secondary care. A largenumber of these members are common to bothorganisations, but this leaves a significant pro-

portion of people who are members of only one.Consequently, a closer working relationshipbetween the Guild and the PDA could potentiallyresult in a larger common base of members. Thiswould be of benefit to all because it would createa much stronger voice for hospital pharmacists.

The meeting concluded withthe Guild officials present indi-cating that they would like toreceive certain statistics andfurther information from thePDA. This was duly provided.Since then, however, thePDA has never been offi-cially contacted by theGuild to pursue theidea further, despitereminders from thePDA.

Now, more than twoyears later, the PDAhas almost 13,000members. Drivenby the needs of

these members, the PDA is to become a union. Inthe near future, the PDA will enjoy similar rights tothe Guild, in terms of its access to employmentdisputes and (subject to membership numbers)also collective bargaining with employers. It issoon to elect its own national committees, one ofwhich will be specifically for hospital pharmacists.Those pharmacists who have asked what wouldbe the point of having two organisations providing

similar roles for hospital pharmacists are right toask the question, especially because on costgrounds alone, it would be far more beneficial tohospital pharmacists if there was only one muchlarger organisation looking after their interests.As far as the PDA is concerned, the door

for dialogue is still open, and increasingly, it ismaking sense for the officers of the Guild toreconsider the PDA’s proposals.

In recent months, the PDA has been approached by many PDA members who are also

members of the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists.

Wouldn’t it justmakesenseforthePDAandtheGuildtoworktogether?

{ }It took almost a year and a half to finally secure aformal meeting with executive Guild officers

The NHS is one of the largest employers in the world, butit is also an employer that is particularly keen on constantrestructuring and reorganisation. The real effect is felt bythe people who are employees - in terms of their jobs, theirterms and their pay and as is usually the case, there will bewinners and losers.

Whilst laws exist to protect the rights of employees, Hospitalshave HR departments to fall back on.

They will have their interests well covered – but will you?

We provide our members with active advice in employmentdispute situations and shortly, through union status, we willhave the legal right to accompany PDA members to internalemployment disciplinary meetings. Since the launch ofthe PDA, we have advised more than 5,000 pharmacists,and to date we have secured more than £350,000 worth ofcompensation payments from employers for members whohave been treated harshly or unfairly.

Problems will occur when you least expect them, so if youwant peace of mind, then join the PDA without delay.

3 Pharmacy employment specialists available

3 Experienced Hospital pharmacists available

3 Union membership option available3 Backed by £300,000 of Legal Defence Costs insurance

3 £5,000,000 worth of Professional Indemnity insurance

ARE YOU AFFECTED?In the last year PDA has supported many Hospital Pharmacists who are

concerned about their employment.

ANOTHERDAY.ANOTHERRESTRUCTURINGOFTHENHS.

11,000 pharmacists have already joined the PDA.momorreeththaann