More than 90 per cent of employee pharmacists have made a dispensing error in the past year, the C+D Salary Survey 2012 has found.

Community pharmacist branch managers and non-manager pharmacists made an average of four dispensing errors in the past 12 months, with one in 20 of the 750 respondents reporting they had made more than 10.

The Salary Survey also revealed that 54 per cent of employee pharmacists blamed workforce pressures for increased dispensing errors or near misses.

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	And, while the average number of prescriptions pharmacists dispensed had increased by 50 a day, 81 per cent reported that their employer had made no change in staff or technology to cope with the rise in demand.

Independent Pharmacy Federation chief executive Claire Ward described the error rate as "very worrying". "This shows people are trying to cope in a system with a contract that's not fit for purpose. Unless these issues are addressed soon patients are at risk," she told C+D.

For more results, comment and news from the Salary Survey 2012 as well as tools including a salary calculator, wheel of blame, interactive map and employed/locum comparison calculator and much more click here