Greedy locums save the day?

Have you ever noticed that when a company can't get a locum for a particular day, some of their staff complain that they will have to resort to using "a greedy locum". What they mean, of course, is one of the last minute or emergency locums, or more often than not, someone who has already worked a full week and offers to give up their day off to help. If anyone else does overtime, don't they normally get extra pay such as time and a half or double time? Not pharmacists, they (apparently) are greedy for asking to be paid more!

Of course, if there is a need for a locum, it either means that someone else is off sick or for other good reason, a mistake has been made in the booking process, so a pharmacist is not present or that some other pressing reason has arisen requiring the presence of a pharmacist somewhere other than where they were originally intended to be. Note that the NHS Pharmacy Contract does not allow any leeway on this matter - it requires the contractor i.e. the owner of the company owning a pharmacy - to provide NHS Pharmaceutical Services during their contractual hours. The regulations DO NOT STATE that if it costs a contractor more to secure the services of a locum than they might wish to pay, then they are allowed an exemption from this requirement.

Very often, it seems, that the people responsible for booking locums for companies are ignorant of the responsibility that goes with the job (If anyone is any doubt about the consequences of making just one mistake, consider Elizabeth Lee and her situation) and of the length of time required for us to train before we are allowed to practice.

For those that are jealous of what a locum can earn, I suggest they stop what they are doing and go back to school (at least 3 good "A" levels needed, usually two years study, then the pharmacy degree course, four years, then the year's pre-registration training before we can earn a living). Just think, in the seven years that will have passed by then (assuming that you pass all the exams and other hurdles), locum rates will be even more than they are now, and you too can become "a greedy locum". Of course, you won't, because you're not greedy, so you won't charge what the rest of us do, will you?