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LETTER: Pharmacist wage cuts will have an impact

The Minister of Health stated that a wage reduction of hospital pharmacists will not impact patient care in the province.

Editor:

Recently, the Minister of Health Mike de Jong stated that a 14 per cent wage reduction of hospital pharmacists (effective April 1) will not impact patient care in the province.

He goes on to suggest recruitment issues (reason for 14 per cent wage adjustment in 2006) for clinical pharmacists are no longer present in B.C.  This is slightly true for only one jurisdiction, Vancouver.

Everywhere else in the province it is very difficult to hire highly skilled clinical pharmacists.  The Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) has a 13 per cent vacancy rate that is proving very difficult to reduce.  A quick check of wage/benefit/holiday differences between hospitals and retail pharmacists will make it clear how difficult it is to hire clinical pharmacists in this province.

Perhaps the minister needs to think of it this way.

At present the majority of pharmacists working in B.C. hospitals have extensive experience and are at the top of their pay scale.

Does the minister actually want us to believe a wage discrepancy of 14 per cent (most of the province outside Vancouver) between hospitals and retail pharmacies will not result in significant resignations of pharmacists from B.C. hospitals?

If the wage reduction goes through in April what are the odds those senior pharmacists at or near retirement age will accept a 14 per cent hit to their pensions?

It is very clear to most people that we should be doing everything possible to maintain the highly skilled pharmacists in B.C. hospitals.

They save lives and money for the health care system. A huge wage reduction for clinical pharmacists will most certainly work against this goal.  The public deserves better.

Robert Wager, Nanaimo B.C.