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Letters to the Editor
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Locum responsibilities
Where do the boundaries lie?
From Mrs R. L. Prosser, MRPharmS
Working as a locum I have little control over staff training but I
remain responsible for what goes on in the pharmacy. I have two situations
I
am concerned about, relating to staff competence and dispensary training
requirements and the grandparent clause.
Recently I found myself in a pharmacy that had accepted a school pupil
for work experience. I became unhappy to have him there as he was not
even seriously considering pharmacy as a career choice.
As I understand it, putting stock on shelves is covered by the requirement
for training or “grandparent clause” status. There is concern
about confidentiality before allowing an untried stranger access to patient
details.
In this case the individual was unable to convince me that I should trust
him. I was unhappy to be put in this position, by the shop manager.
As a profession, it would be short-sighted to refuse to allow work experience
placements. I would like an opinion as to what is an appropriate role
for an inexperienced 15-year-old, in a pharmacy, staffed by locums and
part-time staff members?
My second situation raises similar issues: when working in an independent
pharmacy on a regular basis, I became aware that the member of staff
I was working with had not completed any training course. I asked whether
she had been signed off under the grandparent clause but she did not
think so. I assess this woman as attentive to detail and good at her
job. Where do I stand as a locum?
Rachel Prosser
Bradford
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JANET FLINT, head of support staff regulation, Royal Pharmaceutical
Society, replies: Staff training and team working is covered under principle
7 of the new the Code of Ethics for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians.
Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are accountable for any work done
under their supervision and must ensure that any individuals to whom
tasks are delegated have undertaken or are undertaking the training required
for their duties.
The writer is correct that the Society’s minimum training requirements
apply equally to occasional staff and to those who are permanent employees and
that putting stock away in the dispensary is an activity that is covered by these
requirements.
The Society’s policy is that a new member of staff or an existing staff
member with a new role should be enrolled on training within three months of
starting that role or as soon as practical within local training arrangements.
This gives pharmacists some flexibility within probationary periods to determine
that individuals are suited to the roles for which they have been employed and
that the investment in training is justified.
Where untrained staff members, including anyone on work-experience placements,
are engaged in activities covered by the Society’s minimum requirements
the onus is on the pharmacist in charge to ensure through appropriate supervision
that patient care or public safety is not compromised.
Where a locum has concerns about the employment or work experience of another
member of staff, he or she should raise these concerns with either the superintendent
or pharmacist owner.
The Society has archived over 34,900 completed declaration of competence or “grandparent” forms
that were submitted to the Society in 2004, before the introduction of minimum
training requirements in January 2005, and is able to check whether a record
is held of individual staff members. For more information about this please contact
the Society’s support staff section on 020 7572 2610 or e-mail supportstaff@rpsgb.org.
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal