EXCLUSIVE

The General Pharmaceutical Council’s (GPhC) plan to launch a “programme of work” to tackle workplace pressures has been met with a mixed response from the sector.

The regulator revealed last week that it will host an event in October to address the issues raised in a survey conducted by the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA). The responses to the PDA survey, which were first reported in the Guardian in April, highlighted pharmacists’ concerns that target pressure at the multiples compromises patient safety and undermines professional judgment.

As well as an event, the GPhC said it will also meet with a range of stakeholders, including pharmacy owners, to hear how they “support their staff to do the right thing”.

"Absolutely disgusted"

The announcement drew a range of responses, from the supportive to the sceptical.

Locum Sanjai Sankar stressed that there will be little use in organising a meeting to discuss workplace pressures unless locums and employee pharmacists are invited. “They make up the bulk of the pharmacy workforce and should be prioritised,” he stressed.

Pharmacist Meera Sharma said she was “absolutely disgusted” by the regulator’s response to the issues raised in the PDA’s survey. “That’s the best they can do?” she posted in response to the GPhC plans.

Ms Sharma also accused the regulator of “lacking the guts” to investigate companies when evidence of workplace pressure first emerged.

Positive thinking

Others took a more optimistic view on the regulator’s strategy.

Pharmacist Gerry Diamond said it is “easy to be sceptical” of the plans. He supports the PDA working with the GPhC and others, adding: “Let’s hope things progress positively.”

Nottingham local pharmaceutical committee (LPC) chief executive Nick Hunter told C+D that while it might appear the regulator’s plans do not go far enough, there may be “dialogue going on behind the scenes”.

Holding a meeting in October might seem “a long way off”, but it will allow time for a “considered and appropriate response”, he said.

"Go as far as they can"

Kent LPC chief Mike Keen told C+D he thinks the GPhC’s plans “go as far as they can”, because there is an “unavoidable clash” between commercial and professional responsibilities at the multiples. 

He added it will be “absolutely crucial” that the GPhC invites the superintendents of the sector’s largest companies to the meeting in October, as they are “ultimately accountable” for the professional side of their businesses.

Earlier this month, a former Boots manager blamed target pressures for their decision to falsify forms. Read C+D's full coverage here.
 

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