HP News: Pharmacy staff targeted in plan to improve working conditions

Vol 8 No 9 p235-236
October 2001

Pharmacy staff targeted in plan to improve working conditions

Pharmacy staff are the first to be targeted in a Government plan to improve working conditions for National Health Service staff.

"Improving working lives for the pharmacy team" is the first document to focus on a specific profession under the Improving Working Lives (IWL) initiative. The document contains a series of examples of good practice, that are grouped around five main themes:

working flexibly
better working environments
professional development
cross sector working
skill mix

The pack is intended to stimulate discussion among staff about how they work and how conditions can be improved.

In the introduction to the pack, it is acknowledged that pharmacy differs from other health professions in that "far more qualified staff are employed outside the NHS than within it", hence there is competition for staff in many areas.

The pack also contains some questions (see Panel). Although typical answers are provided for some questions, the intention is to generate debate among managers and staff.

"Improving working lives for the pharmacy team" can be found here (as a PDF* file 1.4MB).

Improving working lives: questions to ponder

What is the departmental policy on part-time and flexible working?

What child care facilities do staff have access to?

How many of the more senior staff work less than full-time?

Does the department or unit regularly experience a late afternoon rush in demand for medicines, and if so, how is it dealt with?

As staff approach retirement age, what information are they given, and what options are discussed?

What is the physical working environment like in the department or unit?

When was the last time that any significant amount of money was spent on improving the immediate working environment for staff?

Some hospital pharmacists working in the NHS may be able to receive assistance in buying a home as part of a programme to tackle problems with recruitment and retention of health care staff.

Under the Government’s starter home initiative, NHS staff who are first-time buyers, earn less than £35,000 a year and work in the London, South East, South West or Eastern regions can get interest-free loans to help them buy a home. Details here (as a Word document).

* PDF files require Acrobat Reader 4 or later.