Insight Online – April 2024

Government is progressing its plan for pharmacy technicians to undertake PGDs 

We are concerned that the government is pressing ahead with its plan to give new powers to pharmacy technicians to undertake Patient Group Directions (PGDs) despite patient safety concerns being raised.

While we agree that pharmacy technicians have a key role in supporting pharmacists through skill mix and, in this way, delivering benefits to patients, we do not support simple role substitution.

Consequently, we did not support proposals made in the government’s consultation to add pharmacy technicians to the list of those professionals who could independently operate PGDs. We have also written to the Pharmacy Minister a number of times about our concerns.

PDA fights discrimination on the frontline

We recently supported a member facing discrimination after it was revealed that the pharmacist was not receiving her proper maternity pay. The employer was inappropriately refusing to pay the full entitlement due to the pharmacist. We call any situations where employers withhold payment due to employees ‘wage theft’ and believe this is unacceptable.

With our help, a settlement agreement was ultimately reached and the employer agreed to make the payment of more than £3,000 in respect of the discrepancies in the calculation of maternity pay made so far. The maternity pay for the remaining months of the maternity leave will now be paid at the correct rate.

Pressure mounts on pharmacists as Pharmacy First threshold approaches

There is increasing concern about the pressure on pharmacists to ensure that the minimum activity threshold of clinical pathway consultations is reached. Our members are reporting that this is manifesting in the introduction of daily or weekly targets and comparisons with other pharmacies through ‘league tables’ at some employers.

As the Pharmacy First Service becomes more embedded, the minimum activity thresholds relating to funding increases. The number of clinical pathway consultations required is set to double between April 2024 and May 2024 when 10 consultations will be needed for contractors to claim the block payment. This will increase to 30 consultations per month from October 2024 onwards.