The chemist and druggist, 18/25. December 2010 (issue 6778)

PEOPLE Got a story for Postscript? A jolly Christmas indeed C+D Christmas Competition 2010 Sponsored by MARTJNDALE PHARMA Making lives better The Day Lewis Pharmacy Riverhead branch in Kent (above) is the winner of this year's C+D Christmas Competition. Their festive display has won them a Harrods hamper. Well done to the team! C+D reader of the week Meet pharmacy manager Amanda Wells from Day Lewis Pharmacy in Erith, London, who prefers brown sauce to red If you could, what disease would you eradicate? I would like to be able to eradicate cancer. What's the best thing about working in your pharmacy? We have a good time and all the staff are very jolly and happy What's your favourite book? I am currently reading one about people's experience of ghosts. What's the best idea you have ever had? to move our stock around so that it sold better What do you want for Christmas? I would like some perfume. I smelled a very nice Yves Saint Laurent one in the airport recently. What will you have for lunch on Christmas day? Turkey and gammon, the works Hsove you got any plans for Christmas? It will be me and my husband and children, we will be playing games, eating lots and generally having a good time. If someone gave you £1,000, what would you spend it on? I would take my children away to somewhere nice and warm in the sun. Where are you next going on holiday? I would like to go to Paris again, as I went last October and really enjoyed it. Red sauce or brown? Brown What should we ask our next reader of the week? If you could have any superpower what would it be and why? Calling all pharmacists and technicians. We want you to be our reader of the week. Email us at postscript@chemistanddruggist.co.uk @The web hunter A lot can happen in a year and 2010 is no exception. We've had two governments, consisting of three political parties, each with its own ideas on health provision. What was also central this year was the drive to use IT to make health provision more efficient and effective. For pharmacy, this meant pressing ahead with the roll out of EPS2, which would finally connect CPs and pharmacies. The mood was optimistic. Cegedim Rx was confident that the roll out of EPS2 would happen in May. And in CP land, patient summary care records would revolutionise the way patients could access their medical records. But then cracks started to appear, with problems hitting the approval process for EPS2, creating more delays. And CPs were given permission to opt out of summary care records after up to 200,000 patients were put at risk by inaccurate records, according to the medical press. But a new government added fresh impetus to IT and healthcare as internet entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox became the LibCon technology adviser and technology was set out in the heart of new health secretary Andrew Lansley's health white paper, Liberating the NHS. And there have been some positives as in August Cegedim Rx finally gained approval for EPS2. And, in October, Andrew Lansley insisted the government would press ahead with the roll out of summary care records. But the issue as ever will be money. While IT might save the NHS bundles of cash in the future, right now it needs investment. And perhaps this will come from the private sector as highlighted by 02's launch of 02 Health. But IT will also need buy-in from healthcare providers and their customers - the patients. Without this, it won't matter how clever a bit of kit is - it will end up on the scrapheap with Betamax and HD DVD and will cost the taxpayer a fortune. Niall Hunt is C+D's digital content editor; email him at niall.hunt@ubm.com A social tweet Join the debate at www.twitter.com/chemistdruggist @CandDChris: RPS members have voted around '■ to 1 yes to allowing students and associate members into RPS from March next year @BPSA: We would like to thank everyone who voted YES to accept students and preregistration pharmacists into the RPS: http://bit.ly/gAI9sd 34 Chemist:- gist 18.12.10 oo