Ms Sharon Foley:

Certainly, when we talk to the officers in the Department and people who understand pharmaceutical care, there is that agreement there. At a ministerial level, his preference is for a national strategy or action plan on pharmaceutical care. We do not mind. We will engage on that. We just want the opportunity to engage with the Department on developing a more joined-up strategy for pharmaceutical care. We feel it should be led by a chief pharmaceutical officer, as is the case in other countries. Where a chief pharmaceutical officer is in place in other countries, they are seeing massive strides and developments in pharmaceutical care. We were talking to colleagues from Scotland the other day. They are on their second, if not third, national strategy. They are really seeing pharmaceutical care develop and expand.