Sinking lid, not recruitment pause for Te Whatu Ora hospital Pharmacy roles
15 July 2024
On 13th June 2024, Te Whatu Ora CEO Margie Apa sent a letter to all staff stating that “recruitment is pausing at this time” and that “the process for approval of frontline public health roles will continue.” However, in OIA data received on Friday by APEX from Te Whatu Ora for the first quarter 2024, pharmacist and pharmacy technician contracted FTE has been reduced by near the number of current vacancies. These figures are reduced compared to the data received by APEX from Te Whatu Ora pharmacy managers in November 2023.
Senior APEX Advocate Denise Tairua says, “hospital pharmacy across the motu were already struggling to fill any vacancies, with critical to staff Te Whatu Ora pharmacies in Whangarei, Waikato, Tairawhiti, Ashburton and Wairau, relying on the goodwill of the remaining staff to prop the services up, the move to a sinking lid will drive more staff to give up and leave.” APEX refutes that Te Whatu Ora Pharmacy is currently adequately staffed.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Denise Tairua – APEX Senior Advocate
Cell phone: 021 827 579
Email: pharmacy@apex.org.nz
What does a Pharmacist do?
The overarching responsibility of a pharmacist is to ensure medication is appropriate & safe for a patient. This can be done in various ways which include assessing the individual patient as to whether the drug, route, frequency and dose is appropriate or if it requires modifying. The pharmacist will check for drug interactions, co-morbidities and presenting condition.
Pharmacists also provide advice to patients, caregivers and other healthcare professionals on medicines.
In hospital, a pharmacist can have many different roles, such as a clinical pharmacist who works with patients & other healthcare professionals on the wards & in clinics – being a pharmacist-prescriber or working as a specialist pharmacist within a speciality such as oncology, cardiology, clinical trials or surgery. They are also involved in the supply of medicines from the dispensary or a sterile or non-sterile manufacturing area.
What does a Pharmacy Technician do?
In a hospital pharmacy, duties may include the processing of prescriptions and dispensing of medicines, stock imprest management, repacking bulk medicines, monitoring and delivery of medication to hospital wards and departments.
Pharmacy technicians deal with hazardous substances, compounding cytotoxic medicines, suspensions, ointments and creams under the supervision of pharmacists.
A pharmacy technician should have a good knowledge of the human body and the pharmacology for a wide range of body systems and may also provide written and oral advice on the use of dispensed medicines and dose forms
A hospital trained pharmacy technician may also work in a ward setting, performing medicine reconciliation on admission and discharge. This entails speaking with the patient to obtain a thorough medication history, giving medicine information to patients, liaising with medical staff and working alongside the pharmacist as part of the team.