The Campaign

If we are to avoid what happened to Elizabeth Lee from ever happening again, then it will be important to take the wider view. Only then will it be possible for us to develop a plan that can be both proactive and reactive.

The whole profession is shocked about the prospects of a custodial sentence being given to a pharmacist for making a single dispensing error. To this end the PDA has robustly stated its opposition to the criminal sanction being used to punish pharmacists for making mistakes in the workplace. We believe that pharmacists should be treated no differently than are other healthcare practitioners. In those cases, once any criminal behaviour has been excluded from initial police investigations - such as gross negligence manslaughter, assault or Health and Safety offences - then the entire matter is handed to the professional regulator so that their investigation can take over.

Not so in pharmacy however, where once an investigation has excluded serious offences, the Crown Prosecution Service have used lesser offences in the 1968 Medicines Act as a sort of 'default prosecution mechanism'.

Equally we have stated that pharmacists should not have to face a hostile legislative framework that leads to defensive practice as this will not be in the public interest.

Prevention is much better than cure

These are relatively straightforward arguments and ones that are also being used by the RPSGB. We are pleased that after much intensive lobbying an early result has already been realised and the commitment of the government to make the necessary changes to the law has been secured. However, we must ensure that we do not merely address the reactive nature of what has occurred by being interested in only the narrow view. We must not waste an excellent opportunity to take action across a much wider front so as to deliver changes in pharmacy practice for the benefit of patients and pharmacists.

This may be a harder campaign to pursue, but it is a campaign to which the PDA commits.

Taking the wider view to secure more benefits

What happened to Elizabeth Lee happened because she made an error at work. Consequently, as well as keeping up the pressure for decriminalisation, the PDA will be pressing for practical safety improvements in the dispensing process and working environments for pharmacists that are more conducive to patient safety. We must put an end to the practice of pharmacies being so short staffed and underresourced that they are a disaster waiting to happen. We must create a legislative environment that encourages innovation, professional decision making and greater participation in a national error reporting programme.

By focusing on patient safety, we can link this campaign to other examples of questionable legislation such as the current Responsible Pharmacist regulations and in particular, to Remote Supervision - the plan to operate a pharmacy in the absence of the pharmacist. As pharmacists we know that this idea is neither in the professions nor in the public's interest. If we undertake this exercise properly, then this could lead to significant improvements in pharmacy practice that will be good for the profession and the public alike.

We appeal for the support of all pharmacists

What we do know is that if we are to be successful, then we will not only need to organise a sophisticated and sustained campaign, but we will also need to work with numerous pharmacy and non pharmacy organisations - in this respect, already much has been done and a degree of success has been achieved. Most importantly, when it becomes necessary, we will need to enlist the support of pharmacists at specific junctures of the campaign. Whether this be for writing letters to constituency MP's or elsewhere, by putting pressure on the RPSGB or by signing petitions, your involvement will be pivotal to the overall success.

We hope that you can support our campaign and we outline our plans