Pharmacists in Smoking Cessation

Recommendations

Info

PROFESSIONAL Michelle McDonagh Report of PSI Public Council Meeting of 8 December 2016 PSI Registration Fee Review approved for 2017 The PSI Council has approved a registration fee review for 2017 after hearing of serious concerns about the level of deficiency in the organisation’s annual budget. The Chairman of the Administration and Finance Committee, Shane McCarthy, told the public meeting of the PSI Council in December that the Committee was recommending a fee review due to an “unsustainable and indefensible” level of deficiency in the budget figures. Mr McCarthy told the meeting that there seemed to be “a budget problem in terms of us as an organisation”. He said a projected deficiency of €48,000 had grown to over €300,000 in 2016, creating a huge concern for the Committee. “There seems to be a trend towards deficiencies getting larger and larger; there is a projected operating net deficit of €685,000 for 2017.” The Committee recommended a review commencing in January 2017, saying it was a nine-month process, and Mr McCarthy stated that they would, in all likelihood, need to recommend a fee review in 2018 as well. He explained that the Committee had gone through the budget line-by-line seeking justification for different cost levels and had identified savings of approximately €230,000 for 2017, but they were still at an operating deficit of €680,000 after making that saving. Mr McCarthy said there certainly was not unanimity of satisfaction among the Committee members as to how the PSI expedited the management of funds. There were particular concerns raised about a PR contract which cost approximately €150,000 annually and was renewed twice without going to tender, he said. When the contract went to tender, it came in at under €30,000, a mere fraction of what they had been paying. Approval of budget He said that, having gone through the budget line-byline, the Committee had no option but to recommend it for approval. He said he did not think a fee review was the only option they should look at in terms of balancing the Budget, and recommended that they also carry out a comprehensive examination of expenditure. Registrar Niall Byrne told Council that since he started in his role at the end of July, he had spent up to a third of his time in finance. He assured the members he came from “the school of small spenders” and was very happy to work with Council and the committees in the interests of moving the PSI to a better position. “A lot of work went into this budget. It is clearly not adding up. This is not of my making but I understand how this situation developed over time given the history of the PSI. It is timely to look at the core funding requirements for PSI, which only really got going in 2009. . . I am very clear on my responsibilities, that the budget should be balanced.” Mr Byrne said the organisation needed to cut their cloth but not to cut it so much that it impinged on their fundamental role. He noted that if the organisation was to be run on a full cost recovery model, new developments would have to be costed and these costs made available to Council before decisions were made. Richard Collis told Council that when they were in the Council room, they were in a bubble and isolated from what was going on outside. “You seem to assume there’s a bottomless pit out there. We don’t need all the bells and whistles, we need a regulatory authority that carries out its basic functions of inspection, enforcement and fitness to practise. I am not isolated outside this room as I have to pay the fee every December, which is very significant,” Mr Collis commented. “Highest level of fees on the planet” Edward MacManus said they should not lose sight of the fact that Irish pharmacists are paying far more in registration fees than any other country. He asked why the registration fee was approximately £500 in England and €2,500 in Ireland. He said he did not think it was justified to automatically look for a fee increase when they already had “the highest level of fees on the planet” and there were concerns over the budget and value for money. Mr McCarthy recommended that the PSI should have a general reserve policy minimum level of 30% of the annual registration fee of €2.5 million. He said the fact they were holding reserves much in multiple of this did not mean they should fling through the reserves they held. This recommendation was approved. Council approved the funding review, the management accounts for the period to September 2016 and the budget and Service Plan for 2017. Fitness to Practise inquiries Council heard that eight fitness to practise inquiries had been heard by the Preliminary Proceedings Committee (PPC) and one before the Health Committee, 28 IPUREVIEW FEBRUARY 2017
For ANY Cough AT HOME syrup ON THE GO pastilles Buttercup Bronchostop Cough Syrup contains thyme herb extract and marshmallow root extract. A traditional herbal medicinal product for the relief of coughs, such as chesty, dry, tickly, irritating coughs and catarrh, exclusively based upon long-standing use. Adults and children over 12 years: 15ml every 4 hours. Max dose 90ml per day. Not recommended for children under 12 years. Seek medical advice if symptoms persist after 7 days or if dyspnoea, fever or purulent sputum occurs. Contraindications: Known hypersensitivity to ingredients, rare hereditary intolerance to some sugars. Caution: Contains methyl parahydroxybenzoate and propyl parahydroxybenzoate, which may cause allergic reactions. Side effects: Stomach disorders. TR 2006/1/1. TR Holder: Kwizda Pharma GmbH, Effingergasse 21, A-1160 Vienna, Austria. RRP (ex.VAT) 120ml €6.99 200ml €9.99 SPC: www.medicines.ie/medicine/16380/SPC/ Buttercup+Bronchostop+Cough+Syrup Buttercup Bronchostop Berry Flavour Cough Pastilles contain thyme herb extract. A traditional herbal medicinal product for the relief of coughs, such as chesty, dry, tickly, irritating coughs and catarrh, exclusively based upon long-standing use. Adults and children over 12 years: 1 - 2 pastilles every 4 hours. Max dose 12 pastilles per day. Not recommended for children under 12 years. Seek medical advice if symptoms persist after 7 days or if dyspnoea, fever or purulent sputum occurs. Contraindications: Known hypersensitivity to ingredients, rare hereditary intolerance to some sugars. Caution: Contains 0.6 g fructose per 2 pastille dose – to be taken into consideration in those with diabetes mellitus. Side effects: Stomach disorders. TR 2006/1/2. TR Holder: Kwizda Pharma GmbH, Effingergasse 21, A-1160 Vienna, Austria. RRP (ex. VAT) 10s €3.99 20s €5.99 SPC: www.medicines.ie/ medicine/16381/SPC/ Buttercup+Bronchostop+Berry+Flavour+Cough+Pastilles/
Page 1 and 2: IRELAND’S OFFICIAL PHARMACY PUBLI
Page 3 and 4: FEBRUARY 2017 05 A Note from the Ed
Page 5 and 6: 24 Interview with Jonathon Morrisse
Page 7 and 8: A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Jack Shanaha
Page 9 and 10: NEW THIS MONTH! Letters to the Edit
Page 11 and 12: IPU NEWS IPU Business Programme Sch
Page 13 and 14: encouragement, and typically takes
Page 15 and 16: MINI 3 * MINUTES START TO RELIEVE C
Page 17 and 18: n 75% of respondents are aware of t
Page 19 and 20: of a similar shape and size and tha
Page 21 and 22: What is defamation? A defamatory st
Page 23 and 24: • Ireland’s only compounding fa
Page 25 and 26: don’t look inflamed and there are
Page 27: Your Preferred Partner MAJORITY OF
Page 31 and 32: 5-7 May 2017 | Croke Park, Dublin R
Page 33 and 34: PROGRAMME INFORMATION The IPU NATIO
Page 35 and 36: IPU - The voice of community pharma
Page 37 and 38: nd Immune r Life
Page 40 and 41: CPD overview Self-appraisal What do
Page 42: CLINICAL TIPS Tara Kelly, IPU Produ
Page 45 and 46: IPU PRODUCT FILE The IPU Product Fi
Page 47 and 48: departments that look after these a
Page 49 and 50: Tailor-made just for your pharmacy
Page 51 and 52: Now, this saver has learned the les
Page 53 and 54: Dates have just been announced for
Page 55 and 56: EHC to be made available to Medical
Page 57 and 58: ME drug not authorised by European
Page 59 and 60: Nivolumab approved in Europe for tr
Page 61 and 62: NEWS HIQA publishes standards for a
Page 63 and 64: NEWS Eileen Byrne appointed Managin
Page 65 and 66: NEWS New Year - New Lungs with We L
Page 67 and 68: SEMINAR CLASSIFIEDS NEW Insurance S

Pharmacists in Smoking Cessation

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?