Pharmacy Daily | Workforce crisis will shut pharmacies

COMMUNITY pharmacies will be forced to close if the current workforce crisis is not addressed, a specialist recruitment expert believes.

In a blog posted on Sun, LocumCo founder, Sue Muller, flagged concerns about the future of the sector, with recruitment issues traditionally only faced by rural pharmacies spreading into metropolitan areas.

Muller said she spent her Sun afternoon "attempting to fill half a dozen locums" for Mon, adding that "a day does not go past when we do not have calls for at [least] two locums" to cover for staff shortages.

"It was common knowledge that rural pharmacies struggled to recruit permanent pharmacists but this has now spread to the metro areas as well," she said.

"If this continues, more pharmacies will be closing."

A spokesperson from the Pharmacy Guild of Australia described Muller's depiction of the sector as "bleak", adding "many pharmacy owners in parts of Australia will identify with the recruitment challenges referred to in the blog".

"That's why it is important to gather up-to-date data on pharmacy workforce issues and build the case for more support for the pharmacy workforce, particularly in rural and regional areas," the spokesperson said.

Muller told Pharmacy Daily that employee pharmacist pay was a key challenge, noting that low pay was fuelling a "mass exodus from the profession".

"Remuneration is the main issue," she said.

"[The] Award rate will have to increase for anyone to feel motivated to stay in the profession."

Raven's Recruitment Operations Manager, David Shaw, described the current workforce shortages as being at "a record high", adding that pay was a significant factor.

"Whilst we have seen an overall increase in the salaries pharmacy employers have been offering this year, many pharmacists have felt that the increases are too low for the responsibilities and workload the role entails and this has been most evident in our metro locations," he said.

Both Shaw and Muller said community pharmacy was no longer the first choice career path for graduates.

"More and more they want to practice in the hospital pharmacy space, or are moving on to another degree or heading towards nontraditional industries of practice for pharmacists," Shaw said.

"We find there are still many passionate pharmacy students looking forward to providing outstanding patient care in community pharmacies, including in rural areas where there has been a combined push in the industry from stakeholders to encourage rural practice; but the ratio of their intentions of what the pharmacy student will do with their degree is definitely changing."