Andy Gray
There are many of us who feel tinges of bipolarity, as we swing from elation at apparent policy changes in our favour to despair at the dashing of such hopes as the policies are implemented. However, the world we inhabit is rarely one of black and white, of clear and distinct positions. This section of FORUM, the official organ of SAAHIP, will try to bring to the attention of members some of the controversial areas in current practice and policy. The intention is to spark debate amongst the broader membership as well as to inform. As a pipe-opener, here are some thoughts on the apparent demise of the conference motion. As the policy generating body of the Association, General Council has traditionally expressed itself in the form of Resolutions. These are formally presented by councillors as motions, debated in the straight-jacketed fashion of parliamentary process, and finally adopted or rejected by the voting members present. This mechanism is meant to direct the actions of the Executive for the next year. Chris Cairns, President of the UK Guild of Hospital Pharmacists has pointed to the fact that external factors make his organisation operate differently (pJ, December 20/27 1997) - for example, when the UK Department of Health wanted views on something, it wanted them almost immediately. "We have to be an organisation that can react quickly," he said, "or which can feed in before decisions are made". What place then does an archaic debating mechanism have in a world which needs quick decisions, made on the hop, and acted upon with alacrity? In a country undergoing as fundamental a transformation as ours, professional bodies need to be able to operate as "learning organisations", not be ham-strung by ideas artificially set in place by an annual paroxysm of decision-making.
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