Census shows year-on-year changes in pharmacy workforce
A second census commissioned by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society has shown some small changes in the pharmacy workforce since the first
census, carried out 12 months earlier.
The report of the second census, launched on 26 May, indicates that between
September 2002 and September 2003 the proportion of pharmacists actively
employed in pharmacy-related occupations decreased slightly and the proportion
of “economically active pharmacists” working part-time increased
slightly.
The census also found that the Register of Pharmaceutical Chemists grew
by 2.4 per cent over 12 months and that its demographic profile altered,
with proportionally more younger pharmacists in 2003 than 2002.
The second census, undertaken in September and October 2003, included
all pharmacists with registered addresses in Britain other than those
who reported in the 2002 census that they were over the state pension
age and not working. The 2003 census achieved a 75 per cent response.
The Society’s President, Gill Hawksworth, said: “The census
provides important information about the pharmacy workforce that is extremely
valuable for planning future policy development. The report exemplifies
why the Society has invested in this type of research and provides evidence
as to why routine collection of workforce data is vital to the strategic
development of the profession.”
The 2003 census report was launched on 26 May at the “Pharmacy:
a profession fit for purpose” conference organised by the Pharmacy
Workforce Planning and Policy Advisory Group.
A report of the meeting will be published in The Journal shortly.
The advisory group was set up in 2003 by the Society with support from
the Department of Health and the devolved administrations. Its remit
is to review workforce issues and develop recommendations about how the
Government, the Society and employers might respond to any problems in
the future.
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