Expert Group Established To Consider Expansion of Pharmacy Services (Pharmacy Ireland 2020)

Date: 26 February 2008

At its Council Meeting today, the PSI, the pharmacy regulator, established a new group to look at how pharmacy services in Ireland can be expanded. The PSI (Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland) group is to be chaired by Mr Brendan Hayes, President of the PSI.  The other PSI Council members on the Group are: Ms Cathriona Hallihan, the Managing Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa of Operations at Microsoft, Professor Peter Weedle, a lecturer in pharmacy at University College Cork, and Ms Ita Kelleher, a former nurse and a public interest nominee of the Minister for Health and Children, to the Council of the PSI.

The Group will report to the Council of the PSI within three months and the PSI will then forward its advisory report to the Minister for Health and Children, Ms Harney.
Announcing the composition of the group, the Registrar of the PSI, Dr Ambrose McLoughlin, said its work was timely.  “The role of pharmacy in public healthcare is growing internationally.  We need to focus more on what pharmacists can bring to patient value, especially in health promotion and prevention.”

"This group will examine if pharmacy can deal more effectively than other parts of the health system with many patients’ concerns through health promotion and screening for certain chronic conditions, e.g. fingerprick testing for diabetes with referral to GPs when indicated; managing patients with stable long-term conditions, e.g. cardiac patients and patients suffering from respiratory diseases; advising patients on managing medications; managing minor ailments to reduce unnecessary visits to GPs and outpatient services; obesity and weight management; and to deliver a broader range of diagnostic and screening services, such as cholesterol testing."
 
He said such services were already available in the UK and there has to be a shift here towards rewards for quality and range of services provided.  “Pharmacists are a highly-educated profession with a widely dispersed network of pharmacies across the country.  In our view, this has enormous potential to assist with bottlenecks and to be an effective weapon in improving the health of the population.”
 
The group was appointed at the Council meeting today which for the first time was held at a school of pharmacy.  The meeting took place at the Pharmacy School of the Royal College of Surgeons and was followed by a courtesy call by the Council on the Lord Mayor of Dublin.  The PSI is to hold meetings at the other two schools of pharmacy, UCC and TCD, later this year.
 
 
Ends
 
For further information, please contact:
 
Q4 PR                  01-4751444
Jackie Gallagher       087-2371838 
 
 
Note to Editors:
 
The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, the Pharmacy Regulator, is the professional body for the registration, examination and education of pharmacists.

More information about Pharmacy 2020 and the Terms of Reference of this review group can be viewed here