Hospital pharmacists who wish to submit their details for the Advanced Specialist Pharmacists validation exercise  have just a few weeks left to do so. The deadline for applications is midday on Monday 30th September.

In July the HSE published the long awaited Circular 016 2024, which finalised key elements of the Hospital Pharmacy Agreement after a 13-year campaign by hospital pharmacists. This big win for members would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of union members and representatives. You can read the circular here. 

The creation of the Advanced Specialist Pharmacist grade is a key part of the agreement. 

Fórsa national secretary Linda Kelly urged members to avail of this hard-won opportunity. She said: “If your work is not reflected by your job title, don’t delay, you should immediately begin to apply for the validation process. Your work is essential to the delivery of safe and high-quality patient care. It took a long time to get to this point and it’s important that everyone’s work is recognised.” 

Procedural documents outlining process flows, application forms, and FAQs for the validation process of Advanced Specialist Pharmacists were sent to members by email in July. They are also available on the HSE website.

In 2011 the Review of Hospital Pharmacy (McLoughlin Report) recognised the need for a revised structure for hospital pharmacy. It was the first review undertaken since 1978, which was when the current grading structure was agreed. Since the publication of the McLoughlin report, Hospital Pharmacists have been engaged in substantial and lengthy campaign to see the outcome of that review implemented, which culminated in the Hospital Pharmacy Agreement finalised this year. 

While this agreement is a huge step forward, it has not yet been extended to include HSE  pharmacists working in non-acute settings, such as CHO areas or national services. In fact, the HSE have indicated that they will not extend the agreement to other pharmacists. This has resulted in Fórsa members working in these areas declaring a dispute and referring the matter to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).  

Linda said: “It’s simply unacceptable that the HSE thinks we would allow one group of workers to be treated completely differently from their colleagues. We have to challenge this now before we end up with a two-tier pharmacy workforce. As Pharmacists in non-acute settings are spread all around the country, we need help to make sure we know exactly how many members are impacted. Please make contact with Sheena Clarke if you are in this group, and encourage your colleagues who aren’t yet members of the union to join.” 

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa.