From Dr B. P. Curwain, MRPharmS
SIR,—I was most interested to read the Society’s position paper on the pharmacy workforce situation. It is heartening that some progress on this matter is now being made.
It surprised me a little to see that, in a three-page paper, there was no mention of the advent of primary care groups. Their clear effect on the manpower situation is demonstrated by the large number of advertisements for pharmaceutical and prescribing advisers in The Journal. These new posts are drawing pharmacists from both the hospital and community sectors.
The apparent absence of PCG pharmacists from the equation is worryingly consistent with the Society’s unwillingness to recognise or set up any sort of body representing pharmacists working in primary care. I do wonder if Lambeth has really taken on board the notion that there will be an increasing number of us, working in a primary care setting, who are not specifically linked to a dispensing function. I see this as a great opportunity for the profession though it is understandable that some may regard it as a threat.
Dr Dewdney correctly states that manpower planning, given the long lead-times involved, is a difficult task. To its credit, the Society has decided to take this on. It is however, according to Dr Dewdney, adopting a “reactive but cautious approach”. The “steady expansion” in student numbers is to be welcomed.
When considering the supply of pharmacists and the factors that affect this market, we must remember that pharmacists are not a simple, traceable, commodity. Demand in this particular market is only to a small extent affected by price (a pharmacy needs a pharmacist). If the scarcity, for example, of locums, causes an increase in rates charged, there will come a point when a business simply cannot afford to employ the locum.
This can have profound effects on the quality of life for community pharmacists and indeed on the very distribution of viable pharmacy businesses. It is one of the reasons that the profession must get a grip on the issue in a proactive way
The Society did recently organise a one-day meeting on the workforce situation to which I was delighted to receive an invitation. Sadly neither I, nor my chosen deputy, could get a locum on the day of the total eclipse.
B. Curwain
Christchurch, Dorset