BPC Conference, Manchester

[DavidS]

not yet reached 30.

Oh Buddha!

[TigerSwift]

Hey DavidS, I'll be going too for the Sunday and the Monday - yay for the cheap days.

They used to have a welcome night drinks reception thing on the Saturday night but I can't seem to find anything about it on the BPC website - maybe its not going ahead this year. The conference club has moved too... i like the Baluga Bar

[DavidS]

The conference club has moved too... i like the Baluga Bar

I don't know anything about clubs or whatever. If anyone wants to meet up somewhere at lunchtime I'm up for that, but I've really no idea where.

I'm glad someone else is going, though, even though I won't be able to id anyone................................

If you see a graybearded man muttering laurabuk tigerswift lindsey laurabuk tigerswift lindsey then perhaps you might take pity on him.

[TigerSwift]

Oh, the 'Conference Club' isn't really a club per-se. It's RPSGB's fancy name for the bar they descend upon each night. Its Hard Rock Cafe or something this year.

As for lunch places there are various tabled areas - and if you really like the PDA they tend to have tables and stuff at their stand.

I'll listen out for someone mumbling my internet name... though people might think you're on the hunt for some ''fun''.

[DavidS]

I'll listen out for someone mumbling my internet name... though people might think you're on the hunt for some ''fun''.

Er, Vegetarian seeks tiger? -- I don't think so

[LLUK77]

I hope you guys who go give Churton and Holmes as much grief as possible! - Ask the trickiest questions possible - expose their lack of knowledge of RP -

[DavidS]

Well, I was there. I was feeling fairly antisocial, so didn't approach too many people to find out if they were laura or tigerswift, so apologies to them.

For next time, I was the greybearded loner with the grey shoulderbag containing a denim jacket and an umbrella, and wearing my habitual blue.

I really didn't want to talk to anyone from the stands who were there, so just had a brief chat on the PDA stand.

I spoke to Lindsay and Graeme Stafford/"gravystuffing" (from locumvoice, and the various petitions). Charming people, both of them. He thought I was David Sharpe for a while, until he realised that there was no way that that David S would be writing the rubbish I do!

I decided to attend a session and effortlessly ended up in the wrong room listening to research students and PHD research theses on workplace stress and the effects of staffing on errors, which was really serendipidous. I enjoyed it a lot.

The afternoon session I attended was on EPS release 2, which rather made my eyeballs bleed. Its powerful, and you can see where they are going with it, but quick and easy it isn't. And it isn't papersaving, either, which will come as little surprise to anyone.

But it has possibilities. I think that they are going to have to get their act together sufficiently with the system suppliers to the extent that we will be able to pick items from labels. Currently rpsgb guidance and sops generally insist that you pick from the script, but even with my nifty little palmtop that could be a problem lol, so sops insist that you print a "dispensing token" essentially a hard copy, out to pick the items, because the item is interpreted by the system (so that the correct item will be reordered, and of course PRICED, etc), it isn't a straight copy-over, so there is a possibility for error. Result, lots of paper. And it isn't integrated with the database that checks patient exemptions, so that tokens will need to be signed by the patient for that, too.

I enjoyed it! Will I go again? A lot will depend if I'm a member this time next year.

[laurabuk]

I don't recall seeing "I was the greybearded loner with the grey shoulderbag containing a denim jacket and an umbrella, and wearing my habitual blue" ...

I found it ok, I went to the simulated patient project talk on the Sunday, which wasn't really what I expected it to be; and to the PLB session in the late afternoon. On the Monday, I went to the Presidential Address, the talk by the MP and the debate.

I enjoyed it, but didn't think it was as buzzing as last year, there were a lot of people there but it didn't feel quite the same.

I had a good chat with a guy from Norgine about generic substitution, he tried to make me sign the petition but need to read the paper first. He also tried to convince me that the new chocolate flavoured (still colourless) Movicol is a good idea

[Sofia]

Could you compare the BPC to the Pharmacy Show? Would you recommend any in particular? Both are very far from me. Is the BPC a suitable place to meet people willing to share projects?