NHS modernisation hindered by recruitment difficulties
Better pay for hospital pharmacists may help solve recruitment problems |
Service modernisation, the key objective of the Agenda
for Change process, is being seriously affected by an inability to obtain sufficient trained and competent staff, according to a paper submitted by the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists to the Nurses and Other Health Professions Pay Review Body recently.
The guild called for a pay increase of up to £4,179 for hospital
pharmacists, stating that while hospital numbers have grown by 8 per
cent, there are still large numbers of vacancies with around a third
of junior pharmacist posts being left unfilled or covered by locums.
This has lead to a reduction in modernisation and service development
with up to 70 per cent of hospitals reporting service reduction or inability
to initiate new services.
However, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown is requesting
that all public sector pay review bodies keep pay settlements within
the Government's two per cent inflation target.
Anthony Oxley, GHP vice-president, said that he expected the NOHPPRB
to make an evidence-based response to the guild's claim and not
one driven by the Chancellor's target. He said that recruitment
and retention difficulties mean that pharmacists should be treated as
a special case. The NHS Confederation has also called for pay rises above
the Treasury's target. Its evidence to the NOHPPRB calls for pay
rises to match inflation. However, it wants a multi-year rise with all
staff groups getting exactly the same deal.
|
Hospital Pharmacist