560 new pharmacists needed for NI

A major drive is under way to recruit up to 560 new pharmacists for Northern Ireland

It will mean jobs in the community, hospital and general practice settings

The plan is part of the ‘Pharmacy Futures NI’ joint campaign, launched by the Department of Health and Pharmacy Forum NI – the professional leadership body for pharmacists in Northern Ireland

Sheelin McKeagney, who's chair of Pharamcy Forum NI, said there was a huge need for the roles

“Over the past decade in particular we have seen demand for pharmacists increase significantly as hospitals introduced seven day working and new roles have been created in the hospital and general practice sectors – many of which have been filled by experienced community pharmacists,” he said.

“While all of these factors have placed enormous pressures on the existing workforce, they have given us an opportunity to attract, recruit and retain more pharmacists into the sector in Northern Ireland.”

The jobs are part of a push for more than 1,100 roles across the pharmacy sector over the next five years

Around 600 of these will be for pharmacy technicians

And it is all part of a 10-year plan to encourage more students into the profession

Mr McKeagney said it was vital for the sector's development

“The Pharmacy Futures NI campaign will promote pharmacy as a career of choice in Northern Ireland – underpinned by a wide range of compelling factors such as greater opportunities for career progression and development, a fully integrated health and social care model, alongside the lower cost of living and quality of life for which the region is so well renowned,” he said.

“Through Pharmacy Futures NI, we will highlight the exciting new era into which the pharmacy profession in Northern Ireland is entering,”

Pictured: Cathy Harrison, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, Department of Health for Northern Ireland and Sheelin McKeagney, Chairman, Pharmacy Forum NI

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