Pharmacy Law & Ethics Coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Pharmacy Law & Ethics Coursework - Essay Example The consequence of this to the pharmacy profession in Great Britain is significant considering that its governing body is a dual function entity – both performing regulatory role and professional leadership function. The present set up of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB hereafter) therefore, runs counter to the Government’s present thrust which is to make health professional regulatory bodies totally independent to be credible to the public. In line with this, the RSPGB is set to demerge its two functions through the creation of a separate regulatory body to be called General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC hereafter) and a separate new professional body, both to take place in 2010 (About the Society 2009). The need to establish a separate regulatory body for the pharmacy profession demerged from the present RPSGB structure was underpinned by Lord Carter of Coles, who headed the Working Party on Professional Regulation and Leadership in Pharmacy in early 2007. In the foreword of the Party’s Report at the conclusion of its review, he said that the justification of a new and separate regulatory body for the profession was keeping in step with the shift in the functional direction of pharmacists from its original â€Å"‘product-focused service’ to a truly clinical profession, directly caring for patients and the public† (MPI 2007 p 4). Subsequently, the Health and Care Act 2008 paved the way for the creation of the GPhC (s 5,  § (2) (1A), Schedule 8). At present, consultations are being undertaken for draft Pharmacy Order 2009, a secondary legislation which will lay down the details of the establishment of the GPhC (DH 2009). In addition, an independent group, called the Pharmacy Regulation and Leadership Oversight Group (PRLOG) chaired by Ken Jarrold CBE, was created to render advice to Ministers in the setting up of the