When GPs say jump the goverment jumps

[cadbury-king]

Following on my no respect post

the point of the post was to show that more needs to be done to raise pharmacies profile.....


Why is it that when GPs jump the goverment follows, but pharmacists are more than willing to bend over


my point is AS GATE KEEPERS OF THE MEDICINE we really should have more power. we need more balls and stand up for ourselves.

in america the pharmacists take a stand they demand payment for services, i on the other hand unlike my american counterparts MURs and other services i offer are rarely reflected in my pay packet

COME ON GPHC, PSNC TELL THEM DO AS WE SAY OR NO DRUGS FOR YOU

[DavidS]

Why is it that when GPs jump

This is the whole point, for me. The GP's jump. Historically, pharmacists have not jumped.

I remember hearing that PCTs are very wary of meetings with groups of GPs, as some of the GP reps are forthright in their responses, to the extent that the PCT members felt as if they had been torn to shreds, their inadequacies and stupidities held up for the world to see. Whereas we go on putting up with ridiculous paperwork, ehc schemes which do not include the most effective oral ehc option, smoke-free schemes which exclude some of the best strategies, etc etc etc.

I believe that the DuH avoid such meetings as a matter of principle. I think I could do a good stand-up routine on NCSO, for instance. I would wonder if Abbie could make sense of it before Gibbs had to shoot someone, for instance.

[Tony Schofield]

I beg to differ that GPs have the power you believe them to have. Indeed many are vocal and many, actually, are very capable whilst a lot of NHS management are less than capable. But most GPs would still say, with justification, that they have been frustrated by the pace of change under practice based commissioning where they are supposed to be driving things.
GPs have seen a significant erosion of their role as nurses in particular and other health professionals have acquired skills that could put them in competition. That was why the BMA wanted a limit to competition in the new reforms. Yes they got it but they also got their "power" under the new reforms curtailed by adding other health professionals including hospital doctors to their consortia.
PCTs have had to contend with forthright responses from health professionals other than GPs.

[cadbury-king]

i just though about this

one way that the goverment and people would see the value of pharmacists, is if we went on strike....then people would know the value of the pharmacists when overdoses and such such happening....im not advocating this but the problem with pharmacists is that nobody has ever known what we do, if we were missing and people saw the result of it. I think we would be more valued by the goverment and society....

if you look at a docter people can imagine disaster when GPs suddenly quit.....but with pharmacists most people think life would just carry on as normal...

[Tony Schofield]

There was a strike of pharmacists in Eire last year. It didn't last very long for a number of reasons. I accept however your view that nobody knows what they have got until it's gone.

[LeftArm]

AS GATE KEEPERS OF THE MEDICINE we really should have more power.

And tomorrow the WORLD!!! muhahaha!!

Although I agree that pharmacists are not given the respect they deserve. I think this attitute is perhaps part of the problem.

we need more balls and stand up for ourselves.

How many people have now been quoted in the C+D saying pharmacy needs to speak with one voice. All of them are right and yet they all stand alone. People are complaining that the new NHS will create unecessary competition which will reduce service quality in a bid to reduce costs. This has been the case in pharmacy for years and is about to get worse with the introduction of EPSr2. You can't strike cause there's always someone who will see this as an oportuunity to stay open and pinch your customers.

AS PROVIDERS OF QUALITY HEALTHCARE SERVICES that can provide cost effective means to produce positive health benefits we should have more power.
Might sound better.

PS I am not a pharmacist.

[hibernia]

There was a strike of pharmacists in Eire last year. It didn't last very long for a number of reasons. I accept however your view that nobody knows what they have got until it's gone.

It is actually two years ago, August 2009, (doesn't time fly).

I wan't rehash why it didn't work but having been there I don't recommend it.
The only people really affected are the sick and the old and they don't have a voice, don't have influence. The decision makers in society are young fit and healthy. They can get by just fine without pharmacists.

[Pharmanaut]

It is actually two years ago, August 2009, (doesn't time fly).

I wan't rehash why it didn't work but having been there I don't recommend it.
The only people really affected are the sick and the old and they don't have a voice, don't have influence. The decision makers in society are young fit and healthy. They can get by just fine without pharmacists.

We don't need to strike - we can choose who we work for though.
Most of the time anyway.

[WalkeRx]

Hmm. As above, striking wouldn't have the right effect - unfortunately. We would all end up getting it in the neck for being selfish, lazy and goodness knows what else, because we're not seen as being affected by any form of change in the NHS..

Then again think of the effect if the majority of pharmacies in the UK had to close for one working day, because the pharmacists are on strike. I've lost count of the amount of times customers have asked if there is "a pharmacist in today" - if only they knew.