Hospital Pharmacist
Vol 11 No 3 p85
March 2004

News summary

Pharmacy staff at launch of new NHS careers campaign

Pharmacists and technicians were among the NHS staff who helped to launch the Department of Health's latest recruitment drive at Chealsea and Westminster Hospital, London last week.

The 2004 NHS careers campaign aims to attract new staff and encourage ex-health care professionals to return to the NHS. Advertisements featuring the journey of a young man diagnosed with epilepsy through the NHS are being run on television and in newspapers. Pharmacy staff are not among the professions specifically mentioned in the 2004 advertisements, but the campaign aims to cover all careers by emphasising the opportunities for team working within the NHS.

Speaking to Hospital Pharmacist, Katie Fernandes, chief medicines management technician, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital: “This new campaign should help to promote the pharmacy profession as a whole. There is a need to recognise the various roles within pharmacy, which include not just pharmacists but also technicians and assistants.” Also at the launch were Deirdre Brady, medical admissions pharmacist at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and Tess Fenn, chief pharmacy technician at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, London.

Commenting on pharmacist recruitment and retention, David Scott, co-ordinator of national surveys by the NHS pharmacy education and development committee, told Hospital Pharmacist “Recruitment is currently matching the increase in demand, but is still not making up for the past shortfall. One concern is that 28 per cent of junior posts are either vacant or occupied by locums.”

Bob McArtney, president of the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists and clinical pharmacy specialist for Wales, pointed out that vacancy levels alone (for both pharmacists and technicians) do not tell the whole story and that chronic under-resourcing can make delivering new services and reaching national service framework targets difficult. “The impact of ‘Agenda for change’ on recruitment and retention rates remains unclear,” he added.