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The Remote and Isolated Pharmacists Association of AustraliaA call to pharmacists in rural and remote Australia to register for a future RIPAA.The Committee of the Remote and Isolated Pharmacists Association of Australia Inc (RIPAA) has decided that RIPAA, having achieved its major aims should cease operating as an active association representing remote and isolated pharmacists. RIPAA was established in 1989, to promote the issues of one-pharmacy town pharmacists to the Guild, the Society and to State and Commonwealth governments. RIPAA has been most successful in this. RIPAA maintained the Remote Pharmacy Allowance and the Isolated Pharmacy Allowance when there was a conscious effort within Government and the Guild to trade these off. This represents over $25 million dollars, paid to four hundred and thirty five pharmacists in just over nine years or on average of $6,500 per year to these pharmacists. In 2000, the Federal Budget included $75 million dollars for rural pharmacists over the next five years. RIPAA was actively involved in accessing these funds. In 1995, RIPAA encouraged the Guild, the Society and the Society of Hospital Pharmacist to set up the Rural Pharmacist Australia (Special Interest Group). We have also supported a number of high profile rural pharmacy research projects. Through our lobbying and presence, the Guild has been able to secure a substantial grant from the Commonwealth government to fund a rural pharmacy project officer. These successful outcomes demonstrate RIPAA's commitment on behalf of their members. However, given these successes and the reluctance of the current committee to continue the voluntary work required to support RIPAA, the time has come now to roll back the active representation of the remote and isolated pharmacists. A residual fund representing uncommitted membership subscriptions will be held at the National Rural Health Alliance for the occasion when issues arise that require that RIPAA be reactivated. If such issues arise, the current RIPAA executive believes that it would be useful for a database of interested pharmacists to be in existence, ready to take action. Please send an email to Mark Dunn to register your email address for this database. It is not envisaged that many (any?) messages will be sent to you in the short term. Further enquiries can be directed to the final RIPAA executive of Patrick Mahoney (Manilla, NSW), Adrian Hinds (Denmark, WA), Mike Anderson (Warren, NSW), Ian Kinsey (Blackall, Qld), Anne O'Leary (Dunedoo, NSW), Mark Dunn (Dover, Tasmania), Ayron Teed (Rainbow, Vic). |
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