Editor’s comment: From rivalry to rapprochement?

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Is it possible that after years of frostiness between the NPA and IPA, they may be heading towards a détente? Or am I reading too much into a recent collaboration to explore the legalities of refusing to dispense loss-making medicines.

For too long the two organisations have pitched their tents on the same turf, vied for the same members, beat the same drum, and targeted the same paymasters. It is counterproductive to see such a discordant approach. 

At a recent Sigma conference, Dupe and Baba Akomolafe spoke about collaboration, not only between pharmacists and GP practices (to avoid well-documented friction points there), but between pharmacists themselves. Dupe wasn’t just talking about rivalry between pharmacy owners; she meant at national level too. The difference between pharmacy and GPs, she said, was that “they presented a united front with one voice, while pharmacy simply does not”.  

Claire Ward, Mayor for the East Midlands, agreed and said it was worthwhile reflecting on whether the “continued aspiration and ambitions of pharmacy have failed to be fulfilled because it could never stay united quite long enough to speak truth to power and make the case for change”. 

We can look back on Pharmacy Voice (disbanded nearly a decade ago), of which Claire was chair, and consider what might have been, but it’s much better to look to the future and take the advice. Pharmacy does seem to have a habit of spawning new bodies when you least expect it (the UKPPLAB concordat is a good example of this) to fill some perceived representative void from a disaffected minority.

We need consolidation, clarity and focus. CPE’s invitation to all sector bodies to put forward their ideas to plot a new direction of travel is well timed. A joint strategy from the NPA and IPA would speak volumes.