Reducing workplace pressure through professional empowerment
July 2011
Foreword
During 2011 we have brought together all our activity relating to workplace pressure under an umbrella of ‘Professional Empowerment’. Through this work we will provide members with direct help – tools, guidance and information - that will help with pressures that they experience within the workplace.
We have a clear mandate to take action to address workplace pressure from the national pharmacy boards’ business plans. This is reinforced by our regular survey of the views of members which shows that ‘excessive workload and work-based stress’ is ranked as the third most important issue for members, after medication safety and the decriminalisation of single dispensing errors. We believe that any area of support that improves the professional aspect of a member’s working life positively affects patient safety and patient experience.
Moving from campaigning on workplace pressure to working towards professional empowerment is more than just a name change. The boards have mandated the organisation to find real and long-term solutions to the unacceptable pressure somepharmacists find themselves under. This work is wide ranging and includes the production of guidance for members and employers on workplace pressure, as well as creating an environment where whistleblowing about public interest issues becomes safe for individuals and encouraged by employers. It is also placed within the context of what a professional body should be addressing in this arena and what is the province of employers, trade bodies, unions, regulators and government.
Our aim is to ensure that members feel supported by the Society in matters of workplace pressure, through enhancement of their sense of professionalism and their ability to exercise it.
Lindsey Gilpin -Chair, English Pharmacy Board
Sandra Melville-Chair, Scottish Pharmacy Board
Nuala Brennan -Chair, Welsh Pharmacy Board
ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT
This document is designed to help pharmacists by empowering them, as individuals, to take action if they are adversely affected by workplace pressure. Its aim is to act as a resource that can enable employees and employers to address issues that lead to stress, and so to improve working conditions, productivity and most importantly public safety. This resource includes recommendations, practical guidance and advice for all parties to use in order to manage pharmacy workplace pressures. The recommendations apply to:
Employers. By which we mean people or organisation who own pharmacies, superintendent pharmacists, chief pharmacists and managers within the NHS and any person with a line management responsibility for someone who works in their professional capacity as a pharmacist.
By which we mean people or organisation who own pharmacies, superintendent pharmacists, chief pharmacists and managers within the NHS and any person with a line management responsibility for someone who works in their professional capacity as a pharmacist.Pharmacist practitioners. Who are pharmacists either directly employed or engaged as locum pharmacists. This will include all pharmacists who work in patient facing roles and also those whose role requires them to exercise their judgement as a pharmacist.
. Who are pharmacists either directly employed or engaged as locum pharmacists. This will include all pharmacists who work in patient facing roles and also those whose role requires them to exercise their judgement as a pharmacist.It brings together the varied factors that can lead to stress, discusses how these can be infl uenced and recommends some solutions. We have tried, where possible to indicate where“quick wins” are available to help resolve workplace pressureissues. In other areas we have included best practice, which may take more time to implement.
This document should be seen in the context of a series of initiatives that the RPS is focusing on to reduce workplace pressure through professional empowerment. With that in mind this document should not be regarded as a complete solution or ‘instant fix’ to the workplace pressure problem.
The RPS believes that this is a firm, positive step in the direction of tackling workplace pressure for the profession. Future changes to professional regulation of premises and policy changes to supervision will mean this document will need revision. These include:
General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) standards for the owners of retail pharmacy premises.
Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s (RPS) impact assessment of the Responsible Pharmacist regulations.
Department of Health (DH) legislation changes for the supervision of medication supply.I
The full document can be uploaded reducing-workplace-pressure-through-professional-empowerment.pdf.pdf