Government to help hospital pharmacists pay retention fee
Pharmacists’ retention fees are to be subsidised by £38 |
Hospital pharmacists in England are to benefit from a Government subsidy of their Royal Pharmaceutical Society retention
fee, it was announced last month.
As part of an improved pay package worth £52 million, the Department
of Health will contribute £38 to professional body registration
fees for all health professionals up to band 8a.
David Miller, Chairman of the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists’ terms
and conditions committee, welcomed the proposals, noting that it is the
first time the DoH had offered to contribute to professional fees.
However,
he added that the offer will do nothing to offset the cost for pharmacists
above band 8a, who have been excluded from the offer.
The announcement came at the same time that the Society proposed to increase
the retention fee for practising pharmacists to £425 from January
next year.
Also included in the DoH pay package is an agreement to pay support staff
in bands 1 and 2 an additional £400 per year, while staff in bands
3 and 4 will be given £38 on top of either an increase of 2.5 per
cent, or £400, whichever is greater. Staff in bands 5 to 8a have
also been offered a 2.5 per cent rise, along with a £38 contribution
towards fees. Details of the pay package can be found at www.dh.gov.uk
See also DoH
to help pharmacists pay Society retention fee (PJ 2007;279:144)
The Society has begun a
60-day consultation period regarding its proposed increases to registration
and retention fees. Registrants are invited to respond to the proposed
changes in the form of a questionnaire that can be accessed via the Society’s
website.
Responses to the questionnaire will be analysed by an independent external
body. The consultation period ends on 3 October 2007. |
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Hospital
Pharmacist