Letter to Members, Observers and Sister Fora
Member Report January 2009
Dear Colleagues and Friends
It is my privilege to wish you a very healthy and prosperous New Year!
Entering a new year, it is always wise to take a moment to reflect on the previous year and to remember the lessons learned. With this in mind, focus must then be on the future. 2008 was not a good year for the Forum. A facelift is needed, and a new start needs to take place.
Thus was the spirit at the Executive Committee meeting just before Christmas. I am happy to report that all members of the Executive Committee were in favour of facelifting and reconsidering our activities in order to demonstrate to you – our members and contacts – that the EuroPharm Forum can be very essential to the practice of pharmacy in Europe and will bring value to all.
East:
Provide support for pharmacy services/relation to the WHO
Those of our members in the Eastern and Central parts of Europe need inspirational support for activities within pharmacy service; this support could well be provided by the members who have already implemented these activities. Also, the relationship between the WHO and the Forum is essential to our members in these countries.
West:
Fullfill need for horizon scan/observatory
Our members in the West must be focused on all pharmacy-related progress; they need to scan the horizon and keep a finger on the pulse. The role of the Forum with regard to those members is, therefore, to serve as a observatory, as a sort of lighthouse, where knowledge and documentation of pharmacy practice developments can be found.
The idea of the Observatory is still under development in close collaboration between the Executive Committee and the WHO Collaborating Centre (Pharmakon). The plan is to present the Observatory to members at our Working Conference on 31 March – 1 April 2009 in Denmark, and I sincerely hope that as many of our members as possible will show up and give input to this. With your input, we can develop this idea further or, should it prove necessary, find alternative ways to satisfy your needs.
Close contact to Members and Observers
In order to learn more about the needs of the EuroPharm Forum members, I have started visiting your associations. I learn much from these visits and will continue this process as much as time will allow. I feel very warmly wellcomed everywhere and am thankful that members take time to discuss the future of the Forum with me. This proves to me that our members are supportive and genuinely interested in the Forum.
I have also had the great pleasure to meet with some of our observers and consult them about establishing a closer relationship with the Forum. This applies to Deputy Regional Director Nata Menabde (WHO), General Secretary Ton Hoek (FIP) and Secretary General John Chave (PGEU), who have all been very supportive in consulting with me, in an open and friendly discussion, to identify a new start for the Forum.
WHO Collaborating Centre
for Drug Policy and Pharmacy Practice
I
frequently meet with the Secretariat at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Policy and Pharmacy Practice (Pharmakon) and have meetings with the Director of the Centre. One of the most urgent complaints of the Forum members has been the crippled communication. The secretariat has made an analysis and has implemented several initiatives in order to improve communication, some very visible and some not so visible. You will receive further notice, shortly, but we expect that this will still be a focal point in the near future, and we will continue to work on this. However, we can never do too much, and it might happen that you will receive our messages more than once!
You are very welcome to report back to the Secretariat or to me if you experience problems or have ideas that you wish to share with us.
Working Conference 2009
You will receive very soon an invitation to attend the Working Conference that is beeing organised on 31 March – 1 April. The two-day event will contain an inspirational day focusing on the establishment of an observatory and a day dedicated to producing outcomes in some of the professional areas of utmost relevance not only to the Forum but to many of our observers. You will find more details on the programme in the January Member Report.
The Executive Committee is fully committed to giving the Forum the new start that it so badly needs. The coming months will be crucial to the future of the Forum, and we need your input in this phase! We, therefore, hope that you will help us and come.
Dick Tromp
President, EuroPharm Forum
Welcome to the EuroPharm Forum!