I’ve been contacted by the PSNC this morning. Apparently locum pharmacy technicians are unable to use their NHS smartcard in any other pharmacy than their “base” store. Pharmacist locums don’t have the same problem as their cards contain additional code that enables them to be used in any terminal.
As we move towards electronic prescription this will clearly become a major problem for locum pharmacy technicians and the PSNC are trying to get the DOH to add the additional code to locum technician’s cards beforehand.
If you have had problem like this please give me a ring as the PSNC would like a real “live” example of the problems caused by the lack of code so they can take these to the DOH.
PLease use the number at the top of the homepage to call
Shaun Hockey – Managing Director PL-UK
Really interesting article on PJ Online about the lack of communications causing a 200% increase in medication errors. I couldn’t agree more as I mentioned in a previous post http://www.pluk.co.uk/2010/pharmacist-access-to-medical-information/
Pharmacists need access to medical information to fulfil their potential as the healthcare providers on the high street and could make a masssive impact in terms of drug costs and effectiveness. To me it’s a no-brainer but until the government start contracting with professionals i.e. individual pharmacists and not shops it’ll never happen because GP’s don’t want supermarkets and multi-nationals to have access to their patient’s medical records
Link to PJ Online article below
We are every lucky at PL-UK because we have some fantastic locums working with us. The problem is that we need more, particularly in the North East of England. So if you are an employed pharmacist looking to locum in the North East of a locum finding it difficult to find work there, call Lynne or Linda on 0800 8818844.
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.
Absolutely loving using Kashflow. We used to use Sage at PL-UK but it costs a small fortune and in our experience customer service left a lot to be desired. Customer service at Kashflow? Not sure as I’ve not had to call them for a year – it just works!!
We have negotiated a discount for all our locums. Simply click on the banner advert above and you will get Kashflow for only £14.99 per month instead of the normal £15.99. Not a massive saving I know but I’d rather you had the money than them!
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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