I am one of the pharmacists that is extremely thrilled of the prospect of scrapping the 100hr exemption. These pharmacies are sprouting everywhere causing great distress to many pharmacy owners. We have just had one open in the last four months and there will be a new one opening soon again. They are strategically placed near surgeries! This is all within a mile. I would hate to be a pharmacy owner right now, its absolutely ridiculous..
I am pleased to see them going. They put pressure on existing pharmacies to increase hours leading to thin staffing levels.
What will happen to existing contracts?
Is the mail order/internet exemption going as well? I can always set one of those up in a warehouse and put a dispensing machine (Like the Sainsburys one) in the dictors reception area.
100 hours are good for employees/locums as they need so many pharmacist hours to cover each shop.
Also a reasonably possible way for a young pharmacist (maybe little in the way of family commitments etc) to start their own shop, which is otherwise very hard to afford. Although orignally imagined as a repsonse (mainly) to pressure from retail park Boots and supermarkets who couldn't otherwise have a contract and therefore favouring the multiples/big business, there are quite a lot of enterprising and hard working young pharmacists who have found a place near an under-performing multiple to pinch "their" customers
The new method of commissioning pharmacy services must include a measure of the performance of existing pharmacies. Only if a new contract can be awarded because an existing provider is failing will opportunity remain in the system. I kind of feel any person willing to work 100hours or pay for 100hours worth of work deserves a contract.
PCTs will still be able, should they so decide, to commission 100hour pharmacies so they won't necessarily go away.............
100 hour pharmacies require More and more for less and less.
A 100 hour pharmacy doing the same business as a 54 hour pharmacy requires twice the pharmacist hours (assuming it's not so busy as to require two pharmacists) for the same remuneration. This will drive down hourly rates.
If a pharmacist chooses to set up a 100 hour pharmacy and pay themselves a decent wage they are still giving themselves a low hourly rate.
If a contractor is failing to fulfill the contract then they should have the contract taken from them. However if they are fulfilling their contract but the PCT fancies an extra service that they don't provide it is harsh to then give a contract to another provider and reduce their business by half. this will lead to PCT's being able to say "You provide this service for free or we will allow another pharmacy who is willing to provide it to open nearby." More work for the same money = lower revenue = lower wages.
Surely the more pharmacies and the more hours they are legally obligated to remain open and manned by a pharmacist can do nothing other than increase demand for pharmacists? Increased demand almost exclusively results in a higher price.
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