Royal Pharmaceutical Society president Sandra Gidley has slammed the government for sidelining pharmacists from its plans to give public sector workers including doctors a pay rise in recognition of the roles they have played during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ms Gidley accused number 10 of "sidestepping" pharmacists and ignoring their efforts to ensure local communities have had access to medicines during the crisis. 

She also said the omission of pharmacists from the pay increase proposals was a “real kick in the teeth.”

Nearly 900,000 public sector workers, including doctors and teachers, will get above-inflation pay increases of up to 3.1 per cent, which the Treasury said would come from existing departmental budgets.

“Once again hard-working frontline pharmacists have been side-stepped when it comes to public sector pay increases. Pharmacists have worked tirelessly in the face of huge challenges during Covid-19 to ensure patients receive high quality care,” Ms Gidley said.

“We want fairer pay for pharmacists who are working for the NHS and delivering NHS services and they shouldn’t have to wait. We want to see pay rises for pharmacists in line with other healthcare colleagues.

“To have the immense dedication and commitment pharmacists have shown ignored in this pay rise review is a real kick in the teeth.”

Ms Gidley said the RPS has asked the government “for immediate and urgent clarification about this unacceptable and unfair omission".