From "Locum"
SIR,—During the recent "quality of locums" debate nobody mentioned that the quality of employers might be an important factor in perceived shortage of competent locums.
As a locum who cares about the image of pharmacy and attempts to do as good a job as possible, it is sad to be forced to admit that there are some poor employers and once you have been ‘dropped in it' you do not go back to that establishment again.
Locums are not held in very high esteem and there appears to be an attitude in some cases that they are unworthy of any consideration.
The following situations have greeted me on various occasions: a filthy computer, a dispensing bench cluttered with work from the previous day, no member of staff with even a grasp of the unfamiliar computer system, no staff with carry-over information from the previous day, a pharmacy staffed entirely by people new to the job, a mountain of prescriptions, an unreliable ordering system and, on one occasion, a shop-fitter who, without even glancing in my direction, proceeded to take the dispensary stock off the shelves while we were working.
A lunch-hour is, of course, unusual, and add to this payment which takes up to six weeks or several "reminders" before the cheque is forthcoming. Perhaps the present crisis is not surprising.
Employers tend to lose sight of the fact that it is very bewildering even for an experienced locum to walk into a strange pharmacy and have instantly to grasp how everything works. Contrary to the impression given by this letter, locuming can be very pleasant, but the point is that in order for a locum to survive, it is necessary to be selective about jobs.
If my personal projection is right and enthusiastic pharmacists are working to only part-capacity, perhaps the present manpower shortage is to be expected.
Locum
297/16