Almost half of public sector workers (45%) face redundancy or are seeking alternative private sector employment, according to research from international recruiter Hays.
Is this the case in pharmacy?
Full article link http://www.recruiter.co.uk/1009774.article?cmpid=REC04&cmptype=newsletter&email=true
As you know I locum quite a bit in prison service pharmacies and as I left my booking on Thursday for the long weekend I was struck by the irony of pharmacy’s predicament with regard to incorporation into the healthcare team.
Don’t get me wrong I LOVED having the weekend off but doesn’t this just give ammunition to the commisioners of healthcare services when they are looking to cut costs. All the other professions have to either work through bank-holidays or, at least be on-call. Not pharmacy. We got all our work done in four days and enjoy the weekend.
If you were a commissioner, would you then class pharmacy as an essential service or one that can easily be out-sourced? Doctors and nurses are essential, they are needed every day. They are visable, available and although they do seem to sit around for long periods of the day, they turn up to work 365 days a year.
In some prison service pharmacies and hospitals the traditional Monday-Friday service is a thing of the past and if we are to be truly seen as an essential part of both the primary and secondary care healthcare teams, we all need to be ready to work seven days a week in the future across all sectors.
I’ve heard on the grapevine that some of our bigger competitors in the hospital pharmacy locum market are starting to charge their locums for CRB checks and mandatory training. Although these things don’t cost the earth it just goes to show that you are better off working through a small, specialist agency like PL-UK than a large corporate.
At PL-UK we see our locums as friends and business partners, not numbers and cash generators. So if you want to work as a locum pharmacist or locum pharmacy technician in hospital pharmacy, work through PL-UK – it won’t cost you a penny!
PL-UK – The number one pharmacy recruitment solutions provider in the UK
When we place locum pharmacists into hospital placements they are typically weeks or months in length and cover long term sickness, maternity leave or a gap caused by a member of staff leaving for another position.
However, as with all departments within NHS hospitals, pharmacy budgets are being squeezed and this has meant that many hospitals have finished their locums and are running on a skeleton staffing levels.
However, this can only last for so long as the remaining staff members are put under increasing levels of stress which will eventually lead to sickness, lower productivity and unfortunately, dispensing mistakes increasing.
So could the community pharmacy locum model offer a solution? In community pharmacy placements are typically single days which would probably not suit hospital placements but cover during peak holiday times and peak dispensing days could support the existing permanent teams without the ongoing costs associated with long term locum placements.
Let me know what you think? Would this suit hospital pharmacy departments? Would hospital locums agree to such a model?
We are looking for an experienced medicines information pharmacists to cover a maternity leave in North East England. Please call Shaun or Linda on 0333 123 3344 for more information. Enhanced CRB clearance required.
PL-UK – for all the best pharmacy jobs
Agency Workers Regulations – how does it effect me?
The simple answer is it doesn’t. …. in most cases. For more expert guidance than I can supply as a pharmacist rather than a legal bod please click on the link below. http://www.pcg.org.uk/cms/documents/01109%20PCG%20A4%2020PP%20BROCHURE%20SINGLE%20PAGES.pdf
One in a lifetime opportunity – pharmacist required in Tonga
We have been approached by a not for profit pharmacy in the Kingdom of Tonga asking us to recruit a pharmacist to work at one of the health centres in the Kingdom. This opportunity will definately not come up again for if you fancy a complete change of scene and an opportunity to live on [...]
Just a quick post to remind all pharmacist that they need to renew their GPhC registration by the 31st October. So you still have a month to pay but if you are anything like me, if you don’t do it now, there’s a chance you’ll forget!
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