By Neil Trainis

The vast majority of Pharmacists’ Defence Association members in Northern Ireland who took part in a PDA survey on professional fees said the sums were too high and they did not see how it added “to their professional standing".

Of the 300 members who took part, 97 per cent felt fees were excessive and 80 per cent would pay in instalments if given the option. The PDA said many respondents were concerned fees were not being offset for members on maternity leave and those working reduced or flexible hours.

The survey, which the PDA said sparked “a huge response in the first 24 hours,” revealed fees on average took up 23 per cent of a pharmacist’s monthly take-home pay as they contend with a cost-of-living crisis. 

There was a strong sense that many members did not feel the fee was justified, with 98 per cent failing to understand how it added any value to their professional status.

Insisting the fee payment system can be amended through legislation “when the will for legislative change exists,” the PDA pointed to the medical, nursing and allied health professions where fees can be paid in instalments or in reduced sums and flexible working is taken into consideration.

The PDA also said members were critical of pharmacy leadership during the survey for failing to address the gender pay gap “and a lack of parity with healthcare colleagues.”

PDA director Paul Day [pictured] told Independent Community Pharmacist it has started talking to the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland about the issues raised in the survey and said he hopes “they will work with us to reach solutions that meet members’ concerns.”

“We want a discussion to reach reasonable solutions that everyone is satisfied with, rather than us making very specific demands before we’ve heard what PSNI have to say themselves about the topic,” he said. The PDA says it has over 1,000 members in Northern Ireland.