Pharmacy Defence Association launches survey of GP pharmacists

The Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) is calling on clinical GP pharmacists to complete a survey about the challenges they face during their working day.

The survey includes questions on how many hours a week pharmacists work, how many practices they work in, and what their salaries are.

“This is an exciting and dynamic time for pharmacists in general practice,” the PDA says. “And we are keen to understand what is happening on the ground.”

The General Practice Forward View, published by NHS England and the Royal College of General Practitioners in April 2016, committed more than £100m of investment to support an extra 1,500 clinical pharmacists to work in general practice by 2020–2021. This was in addition to more than 490 clinical pharmacists already working across approximately 650 GP practices as part of a pilot, launched in July 2015.

Liz Brooke, primary care pharmacist at the PDA, says: “The NHS clinical pharmacists in GP surgeries scheme is a great opportunity for pharmacists, but like all new and innovative ideas, it is not without its imperfections. As the role is becoming more established, we are now seeing issues raised that had not been considered ahead of its inception.

“We hope to use the results of this survey to guide how we are best able to support the needs of individual pharmacists and continue to lobby proactively on behalf of their agenda,” she adds.

All clinical pharmacists — regardless of whether they are members of the PDA or not — are being encouraged to complete the survey.