The Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) has launched a survey on locum conditions as part of a national campaign to end their “poor treatment” by employers.

The PDA’s locum members are “increasingly reporting” that employers are taking advantage of the oversupply of pharmacists to cut pay and reimbursement for travel expenses, the organisation said last Friday (September 11).

It called on locums to fill out an online questionnaire about whether they have ever been treated in an “unprofessional manner” by an employer or experienced staffing levels that have put patient safety at risk.

PDA chairman Mark Koziol told C+D that it wanted “as many pharmacists as possible” to take part because it plans to discuss the results with employers and the General Pharmaceutical Council. The PDA will use the results of the survey – the first of a series – to launch “a number of initiatives to improve the behaviour of some employers”.

“This is just the start,” Mr Koziol stressed. “If we can find a strong link [between] cost cutting and patient safety, then we will want to take additional remedial action.”

Working through lunch breaks

The PDA said the deterioration in locum conditions went far beyond a reduction in hourly rates. Some locums have been asked to “work through their lunch hour or beyond normal closing time” for no extra pay, it said. 

“In other situations, locums who have built up familiarity with a specific pharmacy [over] many years are having their bookings cancelled for no other reason than because an inexperienced locum prepared to work for less has been found,” it said.

The C+D Salary Survey 2015 revealed in January that average hourly locum rates have fallen below £21, a £3 drop since 2007.

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