 "Gone is any mention of looking after the interests of the profession or the science of pharmacy that are strongly reflected in the Pharmacy Order. In keeping with the current zeitgeist, the patient is king and the patient’s needs are paramount."
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It never ceases to surprise me how far some locums travel to a booking, bearing in mind they face the reverse journey at the end of the day
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 The atmosphere among senior DH policy makers has the same sense of urgency as the opening song from High School Musical 3. Sixteen, sixteen more months left, running out of time...the end of season for NHS finances is in sight.
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Clearly, the Society will have a better understanding than the CPS of the seriousness of cases involving pharmacists and of the potential implications of a prosecution.
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Now we at least have a health secretary who has had the brief before and will at least have more than a basic understanding of pharmacy and its potential.
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I have always believed that a pharmacy is a pharmacy only when it has a pharmacist. I have never been convinced I will need to be off the premises for professional reasons. I need to be doing what I do professionally in the pharmacy.
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Talking to a group of community pharmacists at a recent branch meeting demonstrated to me the complete paranoia that has gripped the profession since the Elizabeth Lee case. Everyone appears to be absolutely terrified of making a dispensing error and the consequences of it.
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The public are very cynical about how politicians are influenced but the vast majority of MPs are fiercely independent and have questioning minds.
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"The judge decided that taking the prosecution case at its highest, the evidence against the pharmacist was so tenuous that the jury could not properly convict."
There is talk of community pharmacy premises being registered with CQC in the current consultation about GPhC. That would seem to make a lot of sense.
" I have lost count of the times when prescriptions I have been asked to collect on behalf of patients have not been available – they have been hoovered. This activity is improper, unethically and illegal and is likely to bring our profession into disrepute. "
"I walked into one of the busiest pharmacies in the home counties to be greeted with: “You will be on your own today – we are all going off to attend a training lecture at a hotel.”"
PCTs now have significant powers to deal with underperformance by healthcare professionals. What is needed is a suitable body that can deal swiftly with underperformance by PCTs
What I am about to say may be anathema to some, but isn’t it about time that we had a payment system that didn’t force pharmacists to shop around in search of a profit?
For too long public health has been the Cinderella of healthcare, all but ignored and assigned to the crackpot sandal-wearing libertarians in the basement – but no more.
 A recent report has considered the effects of constant late-night working on patterns of health and sickness levels, particularly on women. The incidence of breast cancer in female shift workers is much higher than in those who work normal, especially day-time hours, and may be linked to lower levels of melatonin in those who suffer from sleep deprivation.
Court proceedings should only be used as a last resort. Any contractor believing a PCT has underpaid remuneration will still have to prove their case, but will usually have PMR to help substantiate any claim.
"I have often said that my workload would be halved if people, especially those in authority, were more prepared to say ‘sorry’."
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It seems we in NI can have difficulty seeing the bigger picture and find it difficult to work out exactly where we fit into things. As a result, we often end up on the outside and, like Don Quixote, tilting at windmills.
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I have said before that a little less management and a bit more leadership would not go amiss in community pharmacy, but my hopes of getting it grow dimmer by the week.
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Allowing responsible pharmacists to be absent for two hours a day is going to turn every 100-hour pharmacy into an 86-hour pharmacy.
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Research shows that men like the fact they can drop into a pharmacy on a casual basis so how can pharmacies become more welcoming places?
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It seems to me completely inefficient that Northern Ireland has three pharmacy bodies all looking after the interests of community pharmacy
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More and more pharmacies are complaining about rude and aggressive patients almost exploding with rage, invariably because their repeats have not arrived or items requested have been omitted from the prescription by the surgery
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If someone can look up their symptoms on the internet and then trot to the nearest supermarket, it might be worth thinking about what needs to be offered if pharmacy is to be the destination of choice
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How much more I could have done on my Christmas on-call sessions had the minor ailments service been active and properly advertised
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 The Society wants me to approve a new Charter. I don’t know why. I only approved the existing one a few years ago and where did that get me?
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