A pharmacist working at Asda has told C+D that the supermarket’s new scheme for working hours risks being “a very serious patient safety and colleague safety issue”.

Under the proposed scheme, revealed by C+D last week, Asda pharmacists will be asked to “work compressed contracted hours” and “fewer days” in new “voluntary” contracts, and offered a one-off “pharmacist payment” as an incentive to accept the terms.

The staff pharmacist, who wished to remain anonymous, yesterday (June 26) said that the effect of the changes would reduce the total number of hours that a pharmacist is present at the pharmacy from around 100 to 80 per week. 

Read more: New pharmacist contract ‘in effect an increase in pay’, Asda says

They added that even with the current number of hours in a week, they are faced with workload pressures that have increased since the introduction of the Pharmacy First service. 

“Pharmacists are struggling to manage daily tasks and meet the expectations of patients,” they said.

Read more: Asda pays pharmacists incentive to accept reduced hours

“My advice to Asda pharmacists [is to] refuse to engage with area managers trying to force this on you - stick to your contracts,” another pharmacist who had trialled the scheme told C+D.

Asda reiterated that it trialled the changes in 12 pharmacies over the course of three months and received “positive feedback from all the participating sites”.

 

Trial tribulations

 

One pharmacist told C+D that their time working at one of the twelve stores in which the scheme was trialled was “not worth” the additional money it had brought in.

They said that working from nine in the morning to nine at night – with longer days but overall fewer hours per week - had left them suffering from “constant migraines”. 

And they reported that the rest periods of two half-hour breaks over the whole day were not enough time to recuperate or eat.

Read more: Asda pharmacy set to close amid drop in footfall and locum ‘staffing gaps’

“By the time you manage to leave the pharmacy, get berated by the customer on leaving and returning and the long walk to and from the staff room elsewhere in store, you basically have enough time to pee and eat a sandwich - at the same time,” they told C+D.

But an Asda spokesperson today (June 27) said that the changes were implemented after colleagues provided feedback that they wanted greater flexibility over when they take their breaks during their shift.

 

Asda: “We welcome all feedback”

 

The Asda spokesperson told C+D that it “received positive feedback from all the participating sites” following the trial of the new ways of working proposed to Asda pharmacy colleagues.

“We welcome all feedback from colleagues on these proposals and would encourage them to talk to their line manager or colleague representative bodies if they have any concerns,” they said. 

Read more: Asda joins forces with Pharmacy2U to launch ‘online prescription service’

They added that the changes will “[reduce] pressure on colleagues in the current model” and new roles being introduced ensure Asda is “aligned with the rest of the market, improving overall efficiency and providing further development opportunities for pharmacy colleagues”.

The introduction of the two new roles will also mean that workload is shared more efficiently and that there is additional support available to enable pharmacists to focus on providing patients with a better experience, the spokesperson stressed.

 

New scheme

 

C+D last week revealed that Asda was “amending pharmacists' shift patterns to align with new opening hours” and creating two new roles – a practice manager and an accuracy checking dispensing assistant (ACDA).

The changes, which affect all 399 of Asda’s current pharmacists, will mean there are more colleagues available to serve patients at the busiest times during opening hours – with pharmacists currently working during old trading hours when it is no longer open, Asda said.

Also last week, an Asda spokesperson told C+D that full-time salaried pharmacists will have “no reduction in pay” despite working fewer hours under the new contract structure proposal.

Read more: Asda admits OTC ‘link selling’ policy for Pharmacy First consultations

The supermarket giant said it planned for the proposals to take effect by September this year.

But a spokesperson for the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) told C+D last week that “a number of members” had expressed concern about the proposed changes at Asda.

It encouraged members working at the supermarket to contact its member support centre “to discuss their particular circumstances” if they have concerns.