Opportunities in the civil service -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 1/22/2000
Last Visited: 3/9/2001
By Steven Collins , BPharm , MRPharmS
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Steven Collins , a pharmacist who is a Government Minister's private secretary , offers an account of his experience of the Civil Service.He says that the best Civil Servants have being intelligent and helpful as their raison d'être.
Graduates in the Civil Service can work in any Department , from agriculture to defence , either in administration and management or as professional specialists.Pharmacists are most likely to be interested in the Department of Health.Like other Government Departments , the main function of the Department of Health is the formulation of policy.For example , the pharmacy and prescribing branch advises Ministers on policy for pharmacy and is within a division of the NHS Executive.Similarly , matters relating to the pharmaceutical industry are within the international and industry division of the NHS Executive , and drug abuse lies with the public health group.The Medicines Control Agency is part of the Health Department too and employs a lot of pharmacists.
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Steven CollinsSteven Collins fills the Ministerial red boxes.
The NHS Executive also has regional offices , which deal with performance , management and development of parts of the NHS in England.These offices are in places like Birmingham and Bristol , and the NHS Executive itself is based in Leeds , so geography need not deter any aspirant.Other parts of the Department include the social care group ( with the Social Services Inspectorate ) and areas such as the private offices , where I work.Work in the Department can also includes a number of interesting one-off projects.Before I became a Minister's private secretary , I was secretary to an investigation into an organ donation incident that happened a little while ago.
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Steven Collins is private secretary to Gisela Stuart ( Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health ).