The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 277 No 7410 p106
22 July 2006

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· Professional regulation
· Code of Ethics (2)
· The profession (4)
· Community pharmacy (2)
· Multiples
· Accuracy checking
· CPPE (3)
· Medicines use review
· Emergency supplies (2)
· Controlled Drugs
· NHS
· Nutrition
· Fellowship
· The Council
· Retention fees
· Section 60 Order

Letters to the Editor

Retention fees

Time for a rethink on part-time pharmacists

From Dr P. I. A. McMurtrie, MRPharmS

The General Medical Council discounts its annual retention fee to members who earn less than £19,700 per year by 50 per cent. This amounts to a retention fee of £145 per year. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society, however, shows no mercy. Even those whose earnings are severely curtailed by their circumstances must pay the full-time fee of £267 per year, if they are to be allowed to earn anything at all.

This annual fee is a particularly severe blow to those members who do a further full-time university degree. Such individuals must find and cope with doing additional locum work at weekends to fund themselves. This overall amount of work may be hard to tolerate, and an income of only a few thousand pounds per year may be all that is achievable.

I was extremely disappointed with the Society when it withdrew the part-time membership fee. I believe it signifies either a lack of thought, or a lack of care, towards a significant subset of the membership. I am sure many others would agree that a general rethink is warranted regarding the need to charge full fees to part-time pharmacists. A discounted rate should without doubt be introduced for members who are doing full-time university degrees.

Paul McMurtrie
Edinburgh

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