Health Minister Michael McGimpsey has been involved with a number of pharmacy issues recently, including promoting investment in frontline services, consultation surrounding the controversial generic tendering proposals as well as having chosen to defer his decision on professional regulation. However, while the Society's members preparing themselves for a long wait until the General Pharmaceutical Council is formed, NIPinF editor Laure James questioned the Minister over the seemingly endless unresolved matters involving pharmacy, facing his Department.

Teva Shun Tendering Plans 

The Department’s latest cost-cutting agenda was dealt a difficult blow at the end of July as one of the UK’s biggest manufacturers snubbed the generic tendering process in Northern Ireland. Last issue, NIPinF editor Laure James reported about the changes to generic procurement in the province, speaking exclusively to Terry Hannawin, chief executive of the PCC and Mark James, managing director at AAH Pharmaceuticals. Now this month, we can reveal that Teva UK has declined to submit a bid for the new primary care tender arrangements, due to start in April next year. As one of the UK’s largest drugs manufacturers, this is clearly not a decision that has been taken lightly, since those companies that successfully secure a tender stand to benefit significantly.

Congratulations to the pharmacy team at Belfast City Hospital, who recently held a spectacular formal occasion at the Hilton Hotel in Templepatrick, and raised £1250 for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Technician and event organiser Liam Mallon was not only delighted with the bumper fund raising but the support showed by those within the profession. “The formal was a hugely successful night and we had a tremendous turn out,” Liam explained.

McLernon Computers, a family firm which has been trading in Northern Ireland for over 75 years, have secured new business from four of Ireland’s top pharmacy chains in the first half of 2008. This means they have the largest market share of any pharmacy software provider throughout the island of Ireland.

While the School of Pharmacy’s class of 2008 were donning their gowns and mortar boards in preparation for their graduation from , a reunion for more than fifty pharmacists who adorned the stage of The Whitla Hall in 2003 was held to mark five years since their graduation. Pharmacists from across Ireland and beyond attended the reunion, held at the Wellington Park Hotel on 21 June, for a memorable night of socialising and renewing old acquaintances from university.

Long-serving Winnie Johnston has been rewarded for looking after the health of people in Northern Ireland for 60 years. Winnie, who began with The Co-operative Pharmacy aged just 16 in July 1948, joins the NHS in celebrating sixty years of ensuring health is at the forefront of community care.

Concerns among pharmacists in Northern Ireland about the state of the profession are continuing to swell, as Numark’s Mimi Lau, director of professional services and John D’Arcy, retail commercial director at Phoenix discovered on a recent trip to Belfast. The Numark Northern Ireland Pharmacy Advisory Board, which includes a number of Northern Ireland contractors, met to discuss some of the most threatening issues facing community pharmacy.

While the future of pharmacy can often be a largely uncertain concept, the one thing that can be relied upon is a consistently high standard of new pharmacists joining the register each year after a challenging, rewarding and very educational time as a pre-registration trainee. Life as a pre-registration pharmacist can be worlds apart from the time spent at university, with differences found in everything from a typical day to changing priorities.