Good News!

We’ve made it on to the NHS Framework agreement for the supply of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. The agreement starts in April and will last until 2012 and will mean PL-UK will have access to many more positions across the NHS.

More news to follow over the coming weeks.

Fancy a trip to Norfolk?

We are looking for a locum pharmacist who can work in Norfolk. Work is available most days at very good rates.

Please call Dee on 01454 299215 for more info or email dee@pluk.co.uk

Secure Pharmcist Groups

To improve the service we provide to our 50 or so pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who work in HM Prisons, I’m attending a meeting of the secure environment pharmacist group in London today. My intention is to produce a quarterly newsletter targeting pharmacists and technicians who have already worked in prisons or are interested in doing so in the near future.

I’ll let you know how it goes later.

Can we learn something from GB Cycling at the Olympics?

I bet, like me you’ve watched in awe the GB cycling team at the Beijing Olympics. They are completely dominant in their event in a way that very few countries have achieved in any sport.

It occurred to me that as a profession, pharmacy can learn a thing or two from the GB cycling team. Like pharmacy in the healthcare “team” cycling has never been as high profile as the “sexier” sports of athletics and swimming (For athletics and swimming read medicine and nursing)

In this Olympics, these sexier sports have been put to shame by the laser beam focus of the cycling team. They have based themselves at a centre of excellence in Manchester, constantly pushing each other to bigger and better things to the point where they are way ahead of any other nation in the world.

Athletics and swimming (Becky Addlington apart) have, by comparison, failed to deliver and will have a lot to do to catch up for London 2012.

I think the Olympic analogy holds in healthcare terms. Medicine and nursing are much more high profile than pharmacy but with all the investment in GP surgeries, hospitals and extended roles for nurses, what difference do you see in the day to day care received by patients across the UK?  I would say that things have improved, but to no where near the extent they should have done because the medical and nursing professions have creamed off a huge proportion of the extra money in terms of increased salary and bonuses. Pharmacy on the other hand has had to live off scraps left by the other professions.

In my opinion pharmacists need to develop the laser beam focus seen in the cyclist.  The latest White Paper – “Pharmacy in England-Building on Strengths, Delivering the Future” gives pharmacists in England an opportunity to focus in on delivering a world class service that make a measurable difference to healthcare in England (and we know we are well behind Scotland in this)  In the same way as the cyclists have based themselves in Manchester, I think that pharmacists need to gather around a body that will deliver real differences for both the profession and GB patients and put the sexy professions to shame. This might be the “new” RPSGB focusing exclusively on representing the profession or the PDA Union. I don’t care which one it is and I have no romantic desire for the RPSGB to succeed after all what have I gained this year from my near £400 retention fee.

Come on the cyclists!!

Shaun is a Director of PL-UK Ltd – a respected provider of pharmacy jobs, both permanent and locum.

Stress levels for Pharmacists

The PDA are doing some excellent work raising awareness of the high stress levels associated with working as a pharmacist today. The BBC have picked up on the story and and run a piece on the BBC website. I would encourage as many pharmacists as possible to visit the site so the story rises up the news “ladder”

Story link

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7563149.stm

Shaun is a Director of PL-UK Ltd – a respected provider of pharmacy jobs, both permanent and locum.

PCT Pharmacist in West Yorks

Do you live in or around West Yorkshire and have PCT experience? If you do we may have a six month placement for you. Give Shaun a ring for more information. 01677 424204

Why?

I sometimes wonder about pharmacists. Dee has spent the whole day sorting out bookings for a newly registered pharmacist at fantastic rates. When she called him back to confirm all the bookings he said that he’d forgotten that he’d signed a contract with Lloyds and couldn’t Locum. If I were Lloyds I’d be getting out before he “forgets” something else!

Shaun Hockey

Shaun is a Director of PL-UK Ltd – a respected provider of pharmacy jobs, both permanent and locum.

Has the £25 barrier been broken?

Ever since the fallow year of 2000, locum pharmacists have come up against a virtual glass ceiling when negotiating rates. The ceiling was £25 per hour an although some locums manged to negotiate slightly highly hourly fee’s for last minute bookings, most resorted to travel time to increase their income.

2008 has been different. We have been able to negotiate rates of £27, £30 and even £40 for our locums on numerous occasions. Why have things changed? I believe there’s a couple of main reasons.

Firstly everyone (Even locum coordinators) understands that in the present economic climate, things are tough and they expect goods and services to cost more. In addition there is no doubt that the increased demand on pharmacists time by additional services and 100 hour pharmacies has made a commodity that is in short supply, i.e. good quality locum pharmacists, even more in demand.

Whatever the reason we believe that these increased rates are here to stay so don’t fall for the usual attempt by the multiples, come the end of August to succeed. Demand that the increased rates remain and help yourself ease the pain of the credit crunch.

Shaun is a Director of PL-UK Ltd – a respected provider of pharmacy jobs, both permanent and locum.

Stornoway

By Shaun Hockey
We are still looking for one more locum to start at the Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway. We are offering experienced hospital pharmacists £30 plus free accommodation for the duration of your stay. We already have one locum there who really loves it there.

Long days, short nights, countryside and coastline that’s second to none and a really lovely department with fantastic staff.

Call Shaun on 0800 8818844 during office hours or 07971187921 in the evening of weekends

Wikipedia entry for Stornoway

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stornoway

Ethan Richardsons testimonial about working at the Western Isles Hospital – well worth a read if you’ve got this far!

http://shaunyh1.wordpress.com/2008/06/12/48/