Today's Public sector payrise

[N.T]

All over the news tonight are reports of the 'poor' public sector payrise.

Nurses have been on the news complaining 'it's not enough for what we do'.

GP's say 'we're being asked to do more and more for less and less money'.

Even a physiotherapist managed their chance to moan.

Pharmacists? Where are you? Let down by the media relations incompetant RPSGB again.

I'm guessing this will be a 'Have you say' article on BBC news tomorrow - I'll post a link then if it is so we can all blow our own trumpets at what good value we are, how we should be more respected and be paid to reflect our knowledge and skills.

[kemzero]

obviously the pay rise stinks....as an Agenda for change victim I feel very hard done by.. I used to be a community/hospital pharmacy locum earning at least £23/hr now I earn a measly £18.69/hr (agenda for change) and the government want to use my skills for therapeutic switches etc its trying to save millions on its drugs budget by using p'cists /techs but are not prepared to pay decent or consisitent wages.
As for the society they don't care about agenda for change ..I used to be an old E grade pharmacist but literally got demoted when agenda for change kicked in.....sorry about the moan!

[alex]

The pay rise is criminal really. Lots of people at work are still reeling over their bandings in AfC, some still awaiting back pay from a couple of years. This will hardly help with recruitment.

I've accepted a job as basic grade/rotational pharmacist for when i (hopefully) pass pre-reg, and the pay isn't much more than pre-reg considering the added responsibility attched to it.

If the govt wants to have any hope of recruiting and keeping pharmacists in hospital, then they have a funny way of showing it.

[_Rob_]

I was a bit surprised pay rises because I thought that AFC had pay rises built into it for 3 years – must have been wrong!?

I think it is disgusting what the AFC has done to us Hospital Pharmacists. During one of my (many) job evaluation interviews I was asked if I had a degree?? This summed up the type of people who were doing the assimilation process; stupid, ill educated & ill equipped for purpose. I did okay in the end but I did keep on complaining…

As for pre-regs. Well, they did perhaps the best out of all pharmacy staff, they got a 25% pay increase as a result of AFC but the basic grades didn’t do so well - hence the lack of a decent pay rise when pharmacists become registered.

[Pharmanaut]

I was a bit surprised pay rises because I thought that AFC had pay rises built into it for 3 years – must have been wrong!?

I think it is disgusting what the AFC has done to us Hospital Pharmacists. During one of my (many) job evaluation interviews I was asked if I had a degree?? This summed up the type of people who were doing the assimilation process; stupid, ill educated & ill equipped for purpose. I did okay in the end but I did keep on complaining…

As for pre-regs. Well, they did perhaps the best out of all pharmacy staff, they got a 25% pay increase as a result of AFC but the basic grades didn’t do so well - hence the lack of a decent pay rise when pharmacists become registered.

The majority of people don't think you need a degree to be a pharmacist.
One pharmacy I worked at was near a school and I used to get asked all the time how many GCSEs did you need to be a pharmacist and did you need any sciences. For the record, I've only got 5 'O' Levels.

[N.T]

The majority of people don't think you need a degree to be a pharmacist.
One pharmacy I worked at was near a school and I used to get asked all the time how many GCSEs did you need to be a pharmacist and did you need any sciences. For the record, I've only got 5 'O' Levels.

Amongst many occasions of people not realising the degree status of pharmacists-

* I've had spotty teenagers coming into with their 'on spec' CVs wanting to be a pharmacist.

* Patient phones up the pharmacist and assistant answers the phone. Patient asks question to assistant regarding medication. Assistant says 'I'll pass you over to the pharmacist'. Patient says 'Why? there's no difference is there?'. I reply 'Only 3 good A-levels, one 4 year masters degree, one years on job training and a professional exam'. [I was on form that day!]