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Ron Pate
BSc MCPP FRPharmS
Pharmaceutical Advisor (Secondary Care)
West Midlands Strategic Health Authorities
Birmingham and Black Country Strategic Health Authority
Birmingham
UK
E:[email protected]
The concept of nonmedical consultant posts was promoted for nurses by the Department of Health (DH) in England in the DH health service circular HSC 1999/217. However, it was only in September 2003 in the DH document A Vision for Pharmacy in the New NHS that a formal proposal was published for consultant pharmacist posts to be developed.
The DH subsequently established a steering group, as well as a wider reference group, to take this forward and, in March 2005, Guidance for the Development of Consultant Pharmacist Posts was published by the DH (see Resource).
Implementation of this guidance was devolved to Strategic Health Authorities, who were advised to develop a system of approval that is similar to that used for nurse and allied healthcare professional (AHP) consultants.
Consultant pharmacists
