Workforce Working Group Update

As you are aware the IPU has established a Pharmacy Workforce Group which is actively working to identify and promote practical responses to help alleviate the ongoing problem of staff shortages. A lot of work is happening behind the scenes to address this serious issue including:

• Updating our website to support pharmacists from other jurisdictions who may consider Ireland a country to practice in; these resources can be found here. We have also produced an FAQ for pharmacists outlining how to register as a pharmacist in Ireland;
• We have been in regular contact with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of Health demanding that community pharmacists are included on the Critical Skills Occupation list, which will assist in speeding up the process for pharmacists from Third Countries to get a work permit;
• We met with the PSI Executive on 4 May to discuss workforce issues; the objective of this meeting was to agree on the establishment of a working group to determine immediate actions to address the workforce pressures being experienced by community pharmacists;
• We met with colleagues in the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) to discuss initiatives that they are implementing in GB & NI to address their pharmacist shortages issues to see what learnings we can adopt here; and
• We distributed a workforce survey to all members, which garnered a response of over 1000 responses. Behaviour and Attitudes are assisting us in drafting a report highlighting the results of the survey, which we hope to publish shortly. The report will create the basis of a comprehensive lobbying campaign, which will include producing resources for members to support this activity. We will continue to keep you updated.

Further details are available here.