§ 35. Mr. Gibsonasked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking to stop the drift of pharmaceutical staff from the hospital service to private industry; and what action he has taken to put into operation the recommendations of the Linstead Committee.
§ 37. Sir I. Fraserasked the Minister of Health whether he is satisfied that the supply of pharmacists for the National Health Service is adequate; and if he will review their rates of pay.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodA general agreement on increased salaries for hospital pharmacists was reached by the appropriate Whitley Council on 20th April. Details are now being worked out. On 3rd March I issued a circular to hospital authorities giving guidance on the action to be taken to implement the 608 recommendations of the Linstead Committee, apart from one or two reserved for further consideration. I have also sent a letter to hospital authorities on measures for securing economies in the prescribing of drugs in hospitals. I will send copies of these documents to my hon. Friend and to the hon. Member.
§ Mr. GibsonI am sure everybody will be pleased to learn what the Minister has said, but is he aware that there is a great deal of concern about this matter and that the greatest loss in this service appears to occur among the most highly skilled men? I am informed that some 28 chief men on the pharmaceutical staff have left the service and have gone into industry within the last two years. Can the Minister say whether the new proposals do anything to remedy the situation, which seems very unsatisfactory?
§ Mr. MacleodI hope they will. That, of course, is one of their objects. The drift to which the hon. Member refers shows itself more in the basic than in the more senior grades. If the hon. Gentleman would like exact details of the proposals, perhaps he will put down a written Question and then I can show them in HANSARD.
§ Mrs. BraddockWould the Minister state the difference between the salary that is now proposed for senior pharmacists and that being paid in chemists' shops adjacent to hospitals? Will he also indicate the difference between the number of people dispensed for in both the private and the hospital sectors?
§ Mr. MacleodI will give the details of the agreement that has been reached. If any comparatve information of the kind that the hon. Lady suggests can usefully be included, I will consider it.
§ Mr. K. ThompsonWould my right hon. Friend take into account that the young men in the lower ranges of the pharmaceutical service are concerned that their rate of progress to higher-paid jobs is very often so slow as to be unnoticeable, and that they fear that those who go into commercial practice and industry are passing them in the salary race very quickly?
§ Mr. MacleodYes, I am sure that that point was in the mind of the Whitley Council when it drew up this new scale.
§ 39. Dr. Kingasked the Minister of Health how many male pharmacists have been recruited to the permanent hospital staff in the past three years; and how many have resigned other than on retirement pensions during the same period.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodI regret that this information is not available.
§ 40. Dr. Kingasked the Minister of Health the number of vacancies for pharmacists in the hospital service and the number of such posts filled by locums.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodThe number of vacancies reported in response to a special inquiry last autumn was 367. I regret that figures of the number of posts filled by locums are not available.
§ Dr. KingIs the Minister aware that the pharmacists inside the hospital service claim that there is difficulty in recruiting pharmacists for the service? While they will be very glad of the termination of the negotiations and the agreement which has been reached, will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that it is wrong for qualified men inside the hospitals to get less than the same kind of men outside the hospitals?