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Letters to the Editor
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Retention fee
Unfairly treated
From Ms C. Schweizer, MRPharmS
Exactly that same thought went through my mind when I read the note
about the announcement
by Hemant Patel in the PJ (26 May, p624). I completely
agree with Paul Breame and the points he raised in his letter (PJ, 16
June, p706).
The retention fee has risen “substantially” already over
the past few years.
I personally think that newly registered pharmacists, those who work
part-time or who are having a career break, eg, those on maternity leave,
are treated unfairly by having to pay the same fee as everybody else.
During a recent update session on pharmacy legislation, I asked a representative
of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society the same questions about why the
fee cannot be paid monthly and why it cannot be a percentage of the salary.
After all, we live in a democracy, ie, people who earn less pay less
tax and contribute to society according to their means. I was told that,
for legal reasons, the fee must be paid in full and at the beginning
of the year.
Furthermore, I was told that every member gets the same support from
the Society and must therefore pay the same fee. I imagine that the support
includes continuing professional development, ie, the provision of a
website to record CPD and the checking of compliance with CPD requirements.
If that is the case, why not, hypothetically, split the fee into a set
CPD contribution, a set payment for the PJ and the actual registration
fee, which is determined according to the earnings of the individual
pharmacists? After all, before the introduction of CPD it was possible
to set different levels of fees taking into account the earnings.
In other European countries, eg, Germany it is possible to pay the fee
quarterly.
As a pharmacist working for the NHS, I feel disadvantaged even further
as my employer does not pay my fee unlike some private pharmaceutical
employers do.
Cornelia Schweizer
Bangor,
Gwynedd |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal