Pharmacy Today: A cautionary warning
From the current online Chemist & Druggist (free to view):
“The economic analysis of the community pharmacy sector, was finally published today (March 28). It found that “around 47% of pharmacies were not profitable in their last accounting year, as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA)”.
The 91-strong page document concluded that 99% of pharmacies in England are funded at less than this “full economic cost”, meaning they are “not sustainable in the long-run”. And more than three-quarters (78%) are “unsustainable in the short-run”, it said”.
Why is this important?
Currently around 2/3 pharmacy graduates find employment in the community pharmacy sector and this sector is in a dire situation.
A couple of years ago Lloyds were the second largest pharmacy chain in the UK. Now they are completely gone having closed or sold all their branches. The Guardian recently published figures showing that since the end of 2017, 953 pharmacies have disappeared in England – more than 7.7% of the total. The trend is continuing with more closures and consolidations.
The short term implications are obvious. Pharmacist locum rates are falling and are now roughly at levels found 12 years ago. Hourly rates being offered are now commonly in the £25/hr with regional variations. There is downward pressure with new pharmacy schools (eg Teeside) producing yet more graduates in the coming years. While some salaried pharmacist positions may still seem to be ok salary wise it must be noted that community pharmacy has no career structure. If nothing else changes you will end your career more or less where you started.
Working conditions in community have deteriorated noticeably over the recent past with greatly increased workloads and an increasingly demanding and often abusive customer. The description of a typical community pharmacy as a sweatshop environment is accurate.
There are new opportunities for pharmacy graduates, in say GP surgeries, but not enough by a long way for those employed currently in community.
Please do your research thoroughly before committing.
“The economic analysis of the community pharmacy sector, was finally published today (March 28). It found that “around 47% of pharmacies were not profitable in their last accounting year, as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA)”.
The 91-strong page document concluded that 99% of pharmacies in England are funded at less than this “full economic cost”, meaning they are “not sustainable in the long-run”. And more than three-quarters (78%) are “unsustainable in the short-run”, it said”.
Why is this important?
Currently around 2/3 pharmacy graduates find employment in the community pharmacy sector and this sector is in a dire situation.
A couple of years ago Lloyds were the second largest pharmacy chain in the UK. Now they are completely gone having closed or sold all their branches. The Guardian recently published figures showing that since the end of 2017, 953 pharmacies have disappeared in England – more than 7.7% of the total. The trend is continuing with more closures and consolidations.
The short term implications are obvious. Pharmacist locum rates are falling and are now roughly at levels found 12 years ago. Hourly rates being offered are now commonly in the £25/hr with regional variations. There is downward pressure with new pharmacy schools (eg Teeside) producing yet more graduates in the coming years. While some salaried pharmacist positions may still seem to be ok salary wise it must be noted that community pharmacy has no career structure. If nothing else changes you will end your career more or less where you started.
Working conditions in community have deteriorated noticeably over the recent past with greatly increased workloads and an increasingly demanding and often abusive customer. The description of a typical community pharmacy as a sweatshop environment is accurate.
There are new opportunities for pharmacy graduates, in say GP surgeries, but not enough by a long way for those employed currently in community.
Please do your research thoroughly before committing.
(edited 1 month ago)
Original post by Sarah H.
From the current online Chemist & Druggist (free to view):
“The economic analysis of the community pharmacy sector, was finally published today (March 28). It found that “around 47% of pharmacies were not profitable in their last accounting year, as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA)”.
The 91-strong page document concluded that 99% of pharmacies in England are funded at less than this “full economic cost”, meaning they are “not sustainable in the long-run”. And more than three-quarters (78%) are “unsustainable in the short-run”, it said”.
Why is this important?
Currently around 2/3 pharmacy graduates find employment in the community pharmacy sector and this sector is in a dire situation.
A couple of years ago Lloyds were the second largest pharmacy chain in the UK. Now they are completely gone having closed or sold all their branches. The Guardian recently published figures showing that since the end of 2017, 953 pharmacies have disappeared in England – more than 7.7% of the total. The trend is continuing with more closures and consolidations.
The short term implications are obvious. Pharmacist locum rates are falling and are now roughly at levels found 12 years ago. Hourly rates being offered are now commonly in the £25/hr with regional variations. There is downward pressure with new pharmacy schools (eg Teeside) producing yet more graduates in the coming years. While some salaried pharmacist positions may still seem to be ok salary wise it must be noted that community pharmacy has no career structure. If nothing else changes you will end your career more or less where you started.
Working conditions in community have deteriorated noticeably over the recent past with greatly increased workloads and an increasingly demanding and often abusive customer. The description of a typical community pharmacy as a sweatshop environment is accurate.
There are new opportunities for pharmacy graduates, in say GP surgeries, but not enough by a long way for those employed currently in community.
Please do your research thoroughly before committing.
“The economic analysis of the community pharmacy sector, was finally published today (March 28). It found that “around 47% of pharmacies were not profitable in their last accounting year, as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA)”.
The 91-strong page document concluded that 99% of pharmacies in England are funded at less than this “full economic cost”, meaning they are “not sustainable in the long-run”. And more than three-quarters (78%) are “unsustainable in the short-run”, it said”.
Why is this important?
Currently around 2/3 pharmacy graduates find employment in the community pharmacy sector and this sector is in a dire situation.
A couple of years ago Lloyds were the second largest pharmacy chain in the UK. Now they are completely gone having closed or sold all their branches. The Guardian recently published figures showing that since the end of 2017, 953 pharmacies have disappeared in England – more than 7.7% of the total. The trend is continuing with more closures and consolidations.
The short term implications are obvious. Pharmacist locum rates are falling and are now roughly at levels found 12 years ago. Hourly rates being offered are now commonly in the £25/hr with regional variations. There is downward pressure with new pharmacy schools (eg Teeside) producing yet more graduates in the coming years. While some salaried pharmacist positions may still seem to be ok salary wise it must be noted that community pharmacy has no career structure. If nothing else changes you will end your career more or less where you started.
Working conditions in community have deteriorated noticeably over the recent past with greatly increased workloads and an increasingly demanding and often abusive customer. The description of a typical community pharmacy as a sweatshop environment is accurate.
There are new opportunities for pharmacy graduates, in say GP surgeries, but not enough by a long way for those employed currently in community.
Please do your research thoroughly before committing.
If I could add to my earlier comment regarding the increasing pressures in community pharmacy.
The current “Pharmacy Magazine” (free to view) reports on pharmacists and support staff being given “non negotiable” targets by employers for effectively forcing clinical services on customers for the fees generated. This is not a new development.
Community pharmacy today is far more a retail environment than a clinical one.
(edited 1 month ago)
Reply 2
Original post by Sarah H.
From the current online Chemist & Druggist (free to view):
“The economic analysis of the community pharmacy sector, was finally published today (March 28). It found that “around 47% of pharmacies were not profitable in their last accounting year, as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA)”.
The 91-strong page document concluded that 99% of pharmacies in England are funded at less than this “full economic cost”, meaning they are “not sustainable in the long-run”. And more than three-quarters (78%) are “unsustainable in the short-run”, it said”.
Why is this important?
Currently around 2/3 pharmacy graduates find employment in the community pharmacy sector and this sector is in a dire situation.
A couple of years ago Lloyds were the second largest pharmacy chain in the UK. Now they are completely gone having closed or sold all their branches. The Guardian recently published figures showing that since the end of 2017, 953 pharmacies have disappeared in England – more than 7.7% of the total. The trend is continuing with more closures and consolidations.
The short term implications are obvious. Pharmacist locum rates are falling and are now roughly at levels found 12 years ago. Hourly rates being offered are now commonly in the £25/hr with regional variations. There is downward pressure with new pharmacy schools (eg Teeside) producing yet more graduates in the coming years. While some salaried pharmacist positions may still seem to be ok salary wise it must be noted that community pharmacy has no career structure. If nothing else changes you will end your career more or less where you started.
Working conditions in community have deteriorated noticeably over the recent past with greatly increased workloads and an increasingly demanding and often abusive customer. The description of a typical community pharmacy as a sweatshop environment is accurate.
There are new opportunities for pharmacy graduates, in say GP surgeries, but not enough by a long way for those employed currently in community.
Please do your research thoroughly before committing.
“The economic analysis of the community pharmacy sector, was finally published today (March 28). It found that “around 47% of pharmacies were not profitable in their last accounting year, as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA)”.
The 91-strong page document concluded that 99% of pharmacies in England are funded at less than this “full economic cost”, meaning they are “not sustainable in the long-run”. And more than three-quarters (78%) are “unsustainable in the short-run”, it said”.
Why is this important?
Currently around 2/3 pharmacy graduates find employment in the community pharmacy sector and this sector is in a dire situation.
A couple of years ago Lloyds were the second largest pharmacy chain in the UK. Now they are completely gone having closed or sold all their branches. The Guardian recently published figures showing that since the end of 2017, 953 pharmacies have disappeared in England – more than 7.7% of the total. The trend is continuing with more closures and consolidations.
The short term implications are obvious. Pharmacist locum rates are falling and are now roughly at levels found 12 years ago. Hourly rates being offered are now commonly in the £25/hr with regional variations. There is downward pressure with new pharmacy schools (eg Teeside) producing yet more graduates in the coming years. While some salaried pharmacist positions may still seem to be ok salary wise it must be noted that community pharmacy has no career structure. If nothing else changes you will end your career more or less where you started.
Working conditions in community have deteriorated noticeably over the recent past with greatly increased workloads and an increasingly demanding and often abusive customer. The description of a typical community pharmacy as a sweatshop environment is accurate.
There are new opportunities for pharmacy graduates, in say GP surgeries, but not enough by a long way for those employed currently in community.
Please do your research thoroughly before committing.
Sadly I have to agree, as a pharmacist for 30 years.
Yesterday I was looking on Locate A Locum site and there were shifts in the Midlands for ridiculously low rates like Sundays at £25/hr and I was on £28 at Sainsburys pharmacy in 2006, twenty years ago!
And places like Superdrug offering rates of £21 an hour for weekdays, I was on £21 back in 2006! Boots and Peak were offering £23/hr weekdays. I was on this rate back in 2008.
It's a pity that neither party seems to want to invest in Pharmacy. Just lately we have seen another few billion for Ukraine, junior Drs getting 22% rises and train drivers getting 14% rises. Pharmacy seems forgotten about, and has weak leaders and weak negotiators, and lots of organisations whereas Drs speak with a single voice.
The only positives I can see are an expansion of GP surgery pharmacists and everyone graduating as an Independent Prescriber from next summer. I wish we had had that in my day, back in the late 90s, it would have been a better career path.
So it's not total doom and gloom, but you will need to do things after you graduate like a diploma, or an advanced practitioner course to get on, and get the best jobs. Being prepared to move around the country will be a bonus too.
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