‘Out of control’: RACGP says pharmacy guild president should consider standing down

Professor Trent Twomey should consider stepping down as president of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia after calling GPs “twits” and describing GP supervision of pharmacy prescribing as “bloody insulting”, the RACGP says.

In a speech to pharmacy students this week, Professor Twomey declared that pharmacists should be able to prescribe all medicines within their scope of practice.

Expecting pharmacists to prescribe only under medical supervision was “bloody insulting”, the Australian Journal of Pharmacy quoted the guild president as saying.

“We do not support, at the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, being able to only prescribe if someone else is looking over my shoulder.

“You don’t see a plumber needing to look over the shoulder of an electrician before they put in your air conditioner.”

Professor Twomey also described GPs as “twits”, saying they had “stuffed” the health system by allowing non-GPs to own general practices.

RACGP vice-president Dr Bruce Willett said the guild president should consider standing down in the aftermath of the comments.

“His comments are really destructive in terms of forging a co-operative arrangement between pharmacists and GPs,” Dr Willett said.

“He needs to consider his position in terms of whether it’s a barrier to building a better and more co-operative healthcare system.”

“There is a Dunning–Kreuger effect here, where he obviously feels, as a pharmacist, he can operate completely as a GP.

“I would also invite him to retrain as a GP if he is interested in doing general practice.”

College president Dr Nicole Higgins said Professor Twomey’s comments showed the guild was “out of control”.

“The speech is nothing short of astonishing,” she said.

“It should send a shiver down the spine of politicians everywhere.

“The language used, the brazen way he addresses very serious healthcare issues and the underlying arrogance informing this speech demonstrate that the pharmacy guild should be approached warily.”

She said the speech ignored patient safety and was “all about exerting power and extending the role of pharmacy to maximise pharmacy owner profits at any cost”.

“The pharmacy guild does not seem satisfied with many jurisdictions already extending the scope of pharmacy or speaking of plans to do so; they want more.

“[Professor Twomey] reportedly even said that pharmacists should be able to prescribe, dispense, administer and review all types of medicines for all types of patients nationwide.

“Let’s just pause for a moment and consider what he is suggesting here, which is pharmacists acting as quasi-GPs without any supervision; treating a myriad of complex health conditions; and prescribing the most serious of medications, including those with the potential to cause severe side effects or lead to dependence.”