Interesting blog post from Paul Corrigan regarding a possible reprieve for PCT’s
I’m really proud and delighted to say that PL-UK have achieved a Diamond Award in customer service after achieving a customer satisfaction score of 95% in a survey carried out by BenchmarQ – a division of QMS International plc.
We try really hard to delight our clients and locums and it’s great to know that our clients think we achieve our goals for customer service.
I must admit to a degree of trepidation when I opened the results. We achieved a score of 93% in 2009 so I didn’t think we could match that again and we didn’t … we did better!
So a big thank you for those of you who completed the survey and to Linda and Lynne for delivering a service I’m soooo proud of. However I’m not sure how they managed to get the survey results delivered 30 minutes before their appraisals – very dodgy!
PL-UK – delivering diamond standard service to our clients, and that’s official!
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
I regularly work as a locum pharmacist, usually in one of five secure establishments in the North East. On a number of occasions over recent years, the contract to supply healthcare services to these establishments has gone “out to tender” with a local PCT usually winning the contract.
This time, the contract has been awarded to a provider from outside the NHS and there is a lot of uncertainty for the staff with many looking for new positions elsewhere in the NHS. As a private provider of services to the NHS, I’m all in favour of private companies supporting the NHS but I can understand the pharmacy team’s concern. As they say better the devil you know
I have worked with the company concerned (not mentioning names at present as I believe an appeal is in progress) and I’m sure the staff will be fine – we recruited both locum pharmacists and a new permanent pharmacy manager for them in a different location, and all spoke highly of the company.
So, if you are in this position, don’t worry too much. Find out about the company and their plans for you establishment and just think, if you are like most NHS employees you will moan about your bosses most of the time, the new guys and gals might be better to work for!!!
Shaun
When I first became a pharmacist 17 years ago, a wise old pharmacist told me that the most important person in the shop is the pharmacy technician. When I became a manager for Boots sometime later, a wise old area manager that the most important person in the shop was not the shop supervisor but the pharmacy technician and this went on and on throughout my career in community pharmacy.
Why is it then that pharmacy technicians in the community get paid so poorly, especially when you compare them to NHS colleagues with similar qualifications? My personal belief is that pharmacy technicians are exploited in community pharmacy and the fact that a very high percentage of technicians are women is the main reason. We have found in cases where a particularly high percentage of employees are women that the reward associated with the job is much lower than where there is a mix of men and women performing a role. A very good example of this can be found in local government where councils are having to pay over £500 million in back pay to women on low pay http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=4339139
In the NHS, most pharmacy technicians are part of a union and the union negotiate with the NHS on their members behalf. In addition the NHS went through the Agenda for Change programme which looked at each role are banded in with comparable jobs in other professions. To illustrate a normal band for a pharmacy technician in the NHS would be 5 or 6 and the salary range for these bands would be £20,202 to £32,662 with some pharmacy technician earning considerably more than that as they take on management roles.
So are pharmacy technicians the most undervalued resource? No, they are not undervalued but they are definitely the most under-rewarded.
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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