The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7193 p495-498
13 April 2002

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Letters to the Editor

Multiple pharmacy

When will I ever start my extended role?

From Mr J. A. Macmillan, MRPharmS

I agree with the sentiments of Kirsty Newton (PJ, 2 March, p287). I am a locum pharmacist and work mainly in large chain stores. I start at 9am, finish at 6pm, have no lunch break, have usually at least a half hour, 20-mile drive to and from work, and in between times have dispensed upwards of 200 items. I go home exhausted and by the time I have had dinner and washed up, it is time to retire. It really is not much of an existence.

I agree that in some of the large multiples we are "overqualified dispensers" since we are usually left in the dispensary alone all day to label, dispense, check and hand out prescriptions. Add to that the job of telephone receptionist for the whole store, putting the order away, the making up of methadone and the checking of nursing home items, the two minutes of spare time we have (if we ever have that) can then be put into good use in our extended role.

For all of the above jobs the going rate is a meagre £15 per hour. Multiply this by 37.5 hours (average working week), assume five weeks' holidays and 10 statutory days and the grand total is £25,312.50 — not a tremendous income for the "highly skilled professionals" that we are.

It makes me laugh when I see advertisements for some of the multiples, offering time to develop, when, from what I have seen, there is no support to give you this time. In today's pharmacy, the shareholder is king and success is gauged on the number of items coming through the door on the tightest of shoe strings.

At the moment I am disillusioned by the practice of pharmacy and its rewards. I look forward to the day when I walk into a pharmacy and see a full team of dispensers and assistants ready to do the jobs I do now and allow me to go out on to the shop floor and talk with patients. This would at least be a start to my extended role.

John Macmillan
Prestwick, Ayrshire

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