Who attended the APPG event and what did contractors argue?

Representatives from the PDA and the CCA attended an APPG event last month on recruitment, retention, and professional development of the pharmacy workforce.

They were joined by Paul Mason, superintendent pharmacist at Lo’s Pharmacy – representing the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies – and Anil Sharma, an independent contractor and representative for the east of England region at the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee.

Following the APPG event, Mr Sharma told the CCA that it had become “impossible to recruit across city and rural areas” as a result of “lack of career opportunities in community pharmacy because of the sector’s flat-funding” and the growing recruitment of community pharmacists into primary care networks (PCNs), the CCA reported.

“We’ve not struggled like this in all my sixteen years of trading. Ultimately, we feel unsupported and underinvested by the government especially when pharmacists have done so much over the pandemic,” Mr Sharma said.

“I would invite anyone who believes that the workforce crisis does not exist… to come and see what’s happening on the ground,” he added.

PDA fires back after CCA accuses union of 'dismissing' workforce pressures

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