What's the attraction of Norfolk for a locum pharmacist?

I don't know either, but there must be some, maybe at least one! I keep getting asked for work in Norfolk and being told that the rates are really good - they'd need to be! If you've never been to Norfolk, there are a couple of things you should know. It's flat. It has lots of water. That's it really. It's a little mind-boggling to find yourself driving along when suddenly out of the side window, you notice that the water seems to be at a higher level than the car and the only thing holding it back is a muddy bank of earth.

It's probably an ok place if you like doing things on the water, as there's lots of it. And if global warming does cause the sea levels to rise, places will have to be renamed such as Burnham on Sea would become Burnham under the Sea. Still, if the rates are as good as they say, it might be worth a look whilst it's still above water.

Emergency Locum Rates

Is it me or am I missing something? If a company doesn't have a pharmacist for the day, through illness or for any other reason, then they need a locum at short notice. If it's my day off and they want me to work, do they seriously expect me to work for free? I've already worked as much (or probably more than) as I want to to begin with, so am I unreasonable in asking them to make it sufficiently worth my while? Ok, they don't like paying what they call travel time, say £25 an hour plus 2, giving me an extra £50 per day on top of what I would normally charge, so pay me £30 or £35 an hour.

After all, it's not my fault they have a pharmacy without a pharmacist, and if I'm making sacrifices to help them out, it would be nice to feel appreciated for my efforts, not to made to feel like a scrounger or a thief. Saying thank you sometimes would be nice, rather than assuming I have a duty to bale them out of a hole. If what I am doing is "overtime", then anyone else would excpect to get paid extra, say time and a half or double time if it's a weekend or unsocial hours. That would make my rate between £37.50 to £50 per hour. I guess they would like that even less!

Does anyone else think I'm barking mad, or do you expect to be fairly reimbursed, especially if you are being asked to drive a couple of hours each way before and after work. Again, is it my fault they have a pharmacy miles from anywhere and miles from where I live, but I'm prepared to help them out? Perhaps we should pay them for working extra or giving up our days off?