More than a fifth of pharmacists - 22 per cent - say they are dissatisfied with their main job, and three in ten are not satisfied with their work-life balance, according to a study commissioned by the General Pharmaceutical Council on the roles and responsibilities of registered pharmacy professionals. 

Three quarters of pharmacists said they were employees in their main job (76 per cent), 6 per cent were business owners and 14 per cent were locums. By contrast, 97 per cent of pharmacy technicians said they were employees in their main job and 2 per cent were locums

The survey, which drew responses from 18,394 out of 79,770 registered pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, showed that while 77 per cent of pharmacists had only one pharmacy related job, 11 per cent had two, and 2 per cent had three. Only 7 per cent of pharmacists had a non-pharmacy related job. 

In contrast only 11 per cent of technicians were dissatisfied with their main job, and only 4 per cent had two or more jobs.

Four in ten (39 per cent) of pharmacists said they were intending to change their workplace setting in the next three years, while 44 per cent said they would switch role and 31 per cent said they intended to reduce the number of hours they worked. Pharmacists worked 38 hours on average across all pharmacy-related jobs during the week.

Pharmacy technicians work an average of 34 hours a week. Thirty-three per cent said they would change role in the next three years while 20 per cent would reduce their hours.

Ninety-four per cent of both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians said they would renew their GPhC registration when it came up for renewal, five per cent were undecided and one per cent said they would not do so.

Eighty-two per cent of pharmacists said they would continue practising in the next three years, 16 per cent were undecided and two per cent said they would not.

Of those pharmacists who do not intend to renew their GPhC registration or continue practising, 37 per cent said it was because they wanted to work in a different, non-pharmacy sector while 34 per cent of pharmacists put it down to impending retirement and 12 per cent said they wanted to leave the UK.

Eighty-six per cent of pharmacy technicians said they would continue practising, 13 per cent were undecided and one per cent would not continue.

Of those who do not intend to renew their registration or continue practising, 40 per cent said it was because they wanted to work in a different sector and 35 per cent intend to retire.

The study also found that 16 per cent of pharmacists had an independent prescribing annotation, while 36 per cent of pharmacists who did not possess one said they would gain a prescribing qualification and annotation in the next five years.

The survey was conducted by Enventure Research on behalf of the GPhC between June 11 and July 22 this year.