Twenty per cent of provisionally registered pharmacists are not currently employed in the sector, according to data published by the GPhC on November 28.

The GPhC ran two surveys in September and October, receiving responses from half of the 2,472 individuals placed on the provisional register this year.

Of the 1,221 respondents, 973 (80 per cent) said they were employed as pharmacists, with 564 (58 per cent) working in community pharmacies and 378 (39 per cent) working in hospital or secondary care.

Seventeen (two per cent) said they are working in the general practice sector, while three reported working in an online only pharmacy.

Sixty-three per cent of those who are employed are working in the same setting in which they trained.

Of the 248 not currently working as pharmacists, 182 (73 per cent) said they were looking for a job as a pharmacist.

Ninety per cent of those currently working said their employer had completed a Covid-19 risk assessment, three per cent said they hadn’t and eight per cent didn’t know. The completion of risk assessments is a mandatory requirement for all pharmacy employers.

Just two per cent said they were concerned about their risk assessment.

Meanwhile, almost all respondents currently working (97 per cent) said they had been informed of who their named senior pharmacist was. Ninety-eight per cent were able to access clinical advice and guidance, with only one per cent saying they were concerned about their access to guidance.

The GPhC commented: “In the small minority of cases where the survey identified issues with risk assessments and access to clinical support, we have contacted the employer to seek assurance that they have made steps to rectify these in all cases where we have been able to identify the employer’s contact details.

“Our inspectors will follow up where necessary with registered pharmacies.”