Report on the National Pharmacy Summit

Date: 28 November 2006

The inaugural National Pharmacy Summit was held at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham on the 16th October 2006. Called by PSI Council and President Rónan A. Quirke, the Summit was officially opened by Minister for Health & Children Mary Harney, T.D.

The President addressed the Summit on the key fundamentals of new pharmacy legislation. In a clear and succinct manner, the President set out this Council’s approach to the new legislation. His full address is available on the Society’s website (www.pharmaceuticalsociety.ie). Every pharmacist in Ireland should read the President’s speech most carefully, and every member of the profession should ensure their Oireachtas representatives are provided with a copy.

President Quirke made the following points clear:

Welcoming the new legislation, the President outlined the core essential element to ensure an effective legislative framework:

The President challenged the concept of ‘keeping open shop’ and whether in the 21st century such a concept provided for effective and adequate patient safety and public protection. The President called for similar safeguards as those that apply to veterinary care, practice and services.

Further, he indicated the need to align fitness to practice and fitness to operate provisions with a Competency Assurance regime that provides an early warning system for the professional. This regime would allow the regulator to address shortcomings in professional performance.

The President informed the Minister that PSI Council and staff would work with her and her Department to achieve the best legislation possible – a comprehensive piece of legislation fit for purpose, and fit for the future of a profession with so much to offer to those in the most need.

The President also took the opportunity to call for closer collaboration between the regulators so that issues that span a number of professions and services may be addressed in a coherent and effective manner.

Identifying the need for a Chief Pharmacist supported by policy development resources, the President concluded by challenging all stakeholders to contribute to the breakout sessions to be held that afternoon and to present their views on the way forward for the sector.

The five speakers for the day were introduced and welcomed by the Vice President, Kate Mulvenna. The first speaker, Lord Peter Fraser of Carmyllie, QC, the Chair of the Statutory Committee of the RPSGB and a former Scottish law advocate, outlined the essential ingredients of fitness to practice provisions. From his considerable experience, he presented many important considerations in particular those relating to process and the management of complex and difficult legal matters.

Next, Norman Morrow, the current Chief Pharmacist of Northern Ireland, presented the view of a Chief Pharmacist on the key governance issues and pharmacy regulation that have been addressed in Northern Ireland. Drawing from the Northern Ireland experience and other jurisdictions, Dr. Morrow highlighted the levels of accountability required across pharmacy services. Focussing on the key aspects of public protection and patient safety, his presentation challenges all of us to expand our knowledge and understanding of governance and its implications across the profession and sector.

The third speaker, Dr. Jenny King, a chartered psychologist and Managing Director of the Edgecumbe Group with an expertise in the area of competency assurance, indicated that given the experiences in other sectors and often front-line professions that you cannot regulate effectively without a tailor made effective competency assurance system that is used by all in the profession and sector. Supporting Rónan Quirke, PSI President, she challenged senior policy makers to learn from the experience in the other jurisdictions.

Following King, Tim Delaney, Head of Pharmacy at the AMNCH, addressed the Summit on Patient Safety considerations. An experienced senior manager and chief pharmacist, he challenged the Irish health system to place strategy development, patient safety and best outcomes at the heart of policy making in Ireland.

The final speaker, Ann Lewis, Registrar & Secretary of the RPSGB, highlighted key considerations for regulators identifying open transparent management systems and processes of the highest integrity as the key to public and patient confidence. She went on to highlight the importance of effective collaboration at international and EU level and the challenge to separate the regulatory role from the representative role in line with the expectations of policy makers and political system. She indicated that the level of accountability and scrutiny would increase in the coming years.

The afternoon’s breakout sessions focussed on

Fitness to Practice and Fitness to Operate was led by Dominic Dowling, Legal Advisor to the PSI; Patient Safety by PSI Vice President Kate Mulvenna; and Competency Assurance by PSI Council Member Prof. Peter Weedle.

Council will consider the outcomes of the Summit at its December meeting and the PSI Service Plan for 2007 will address many of the recommendations.

The National Pharmacy Summit, led by the President and chaired by the Vice President, demonstrates a confident and competent leadership of the sector into a new era addressing the many challenges ahead, not least of which is the modernisation of the profession. The President put it very well when he said "the responsibility rests with all of us to ensure that proper patient and public safeguards are in place to facilitate the profession of pharmacy and provision of pharmacy services to move to the 21st century."

It’s over to all of us.