Pharmacy Workforce Report 2024
Executive summary
The demand for pharmacy services
- The demand for pharmacy workforce continues to increase across all sectors of pharmacy practice as the shape and nature of pharmaceutical services change.
- There is evidence that the demand for pharmacy services depends on the size and composition of the population. The projected increase in the size and change in the composition of Scotland’s population is therefore likely to increase the demand for pharmacy services.
- There is evidence that the demand for pharmacy services depends on socioeconomic deprivation. The demand for pharmacy services is likely to vary within and between NHS boards according to variation in socioeconomic deprivation.
- The ratio of applications to accepted places on four-year MPharm courses in Scotland rose at both universities in 2024.
- The intake to MPharm courses in Scotland in 2022 was 300, a slight increase on the previous year.
- The percentage of first-year Scottish-domiciled MPharm students decreased from 92.4% in 2012-13 to 77.1% in 2022-23.
- The probability of completing the programme in Scotland was 0.8 within four years and 0.9 within six years.
- The latest PRPS/FTY survey found that most respondents (86.4%) qualified from a school of pharmacy in Scotland and 81% planned to remain in Scotland.
- 415 IPs qualified in Scotland in 2024.
- There were 115.2 WTE Pre-registration Trainee Pharmacy Technicians in the managed sector in 2024.
- The 2024 NHS Scotland staff and vacancy survey (covering Acute, Central, Mental Health, Community and Primary Care) showed a total of 4,147.7 WTE staff in post, a 6.8% increase on the 2023 survey.
- Numbers of WTE Managed Sector staff in September 2024 were 1,891 Pharmacists, 1,248.8 Pharmacy Technicians, and 1,007.9 Pharmacy Support staff. There were 159.1 WTE Pharmacist vacancies (a vacancy rate of 7.8%), 90.1 Pharmacy Technician vacancies (6.7%), and 79.6 Pharmacy Support Staff vacancies (7.3%).
- Since the last Staff and Vacancy survey, WTE numbers increased for Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacy Support Staff. The vacancy rates for all three have decreased.
- There was variation between NHS Boards in the number of WTE staff per 10,000.
- Pharmacists remain on the UK Shortage Occupation List.
- Based on a comparison of GPhC Scottish Registrant data and combined employment data from the Scottish Community and Managed sectors, there are approximately 1,400 more Pharmacists registered with the GPhC than there are in employment.
- Real median gross hourly pay for Pharmacists in Scotland decreased in 2024 to £27.45 per hour. Hourly pay increased slightly in 2024 for Pharmacy Technicians and remained steady for Dispensing Assistants.
1 Introduction
In April 2009 Audit Scotland found that workforce planning for pharmacy staff was not well developed and recommended that the SG should work with NES, NHS NSS and NHS boards to develop national pharmacy workforce planning information to support NHS boards in taking forward workforce plans and workforce development. In response to this recommendation the SG set up a Pharmacy Action Plan Steering Group and created a Pharmacy Workforce Planning Project, which agreed that NES and NHS NSS would work together to analyse pharmacy workforce data to inform the Pharmacy Action Plan Steering Group. Following a review of pharmaceutical care in Scotland the SG published a vision and action plan, which recommended that
NES, working with key stakeholders such as the Schools of Pharmacy and the NHS boards, should be commissioned to undertake data collection and trend analysis to lead to better supply and demand forecasting, and capacity planning for the pharmacy workforce.
In 2024, the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer established a National Pharmacy Workforce Forum to provide strategic influence and national coordinated actions to support evidence-based pharmacy workforce planning.
2 The demand for pharmacy services
Audit Scotland reported that the demand for pharmacy services was a function of the size and composition of the population and the level of socioeconomic deprivation. The following sections report the latest population projections for Scotland and the spatial distribution of socioeconomic deprivation in Scotland.
2.1 Population projections
Audit Scotland reported that the demand for pharmacy services was a function of the size and, because the number of medicines people are prescribed rises after age 50, the age distribution of the population. Therefore the expected future demand for pharmacy services depends on the population projections for Scotland.
The latest 2022-based population projections from the NRS show the projected size and composition of the population.
Between 2022 and 2032 the population of Scotland is projected to increase by 237,210.0 (4.4%). By contrast, between 2022 and 2032 the population of Scotland aged 50 and over is projected to increase by 5.2%.
2.2 The distribution of community pharmacies by SIMD
Audit Scotland reported that the demand for pharmacy services was a function of the level of socioeconomic deprivation. The following chart demonstrates this relationship by linking the postcodes of Scotland’s 1,257 community pharmacy contractors (from data compiled by NES and CPS) to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).
SIMD is a relative measure of deprivation that ranks each of the 6,976 Data Zones in Scotland from most deprived to least deprived. Here we report the grouping of ranked DataZones into ten equally-sized groups known as deciles.
There were more than twice as many community pharmacies in the most deprived SIMD decile (1) compared to the least deprived decile (10).
2.3 Demand for Pharmacy workforce from NHS Boards
The demand for pharmacy workforce continues to increase across all sectors of pharmacy practice as the shape and nature of pharmaceutical services change. Significant changes to practice are being driven through the evolution of community pharmacy and primary care services, hospital transformation, as well as digital innovation (including Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Pathways (DPDP) programme and the roll out of Hospital Electronic Prescribing and Medicine Administration (HEPMA)) and personalisation of medicines. All of these developments will impact on the numbers and skills required by the pharmacy workforce in the future; although the specifics of such an impact is unclear.
The current Scottish Government strategy Achieving Excellence in Pharmaceutical Care (AEiPC) (2017) has led to significant changes in the workforce, through ambitions related to each sector of practice. While we anticipate an updated vision for hospital pharmacy and general practice transformation, many of the original ambitions in AEiPC are aligned to the 10 drivers for change listed below, outlined in the NHS in Scotland 2023, Audit Scotland report. Boards are aligning their local operational and strategic priorities to these drivers and there will be clear requirements of the pharmacy workforce.
- Improved access to primary and community care to enable earlier intervention
- Urgent & Unscheduled Care – Provide the Right Care, in the Right Place, at the right time
- Improve the delivery of mental health support and services
- Recovering and improving the delivery of planned care
- Delivering the National Cancer Action Plan (spring 2023-2026)
- Enhance planning and delivery of the approach to health inequalities
- Fast-track the national adoption of proven innovations
- Implementation of the Workforce Strategy
- Optimise use of digital and data technologies in the design and delivery of health and care services
- Climate Emergency and Environment
In community pharmacy, the AEiPC ambition to become the “first port of call” has led to an increased demand for community pharmacists to train as prescribers and undertake clinical assessment skills training, and the introduction of NHS Pharmacy First Plus (a service through which patients can access pharmacist prescribers locally in their community, to treat common clinical conditions). This service may have impacted in workforce models and skill mix at a local level.
In general practice, the introduction of the General Medical Services Contract Pharmacotherapy service has resulted in significant impact on the movement of pharmacy staff, and the need for skills development. The consequence of this new service was significant growth in general practice establishment, at a cost to other sectors of practice, and pressure on the existing pipeline. These changes affected pharmacist, pharmacy technician and pharmacy support staff, staffing groups.
In hospital, transformation and the rapid expansion in roles has resulted in recruitment and retention challenges and has driven pressure on the system and led to significant service delivery pressures. Expansions of cancer services and emergency departments contribute to the increased need for new posts.
The introduction of new regulatory standards for the Initial Education and Training for pharmacists, will lead to Pharmacists entering the profession as prescribers upon registration from 2026. This not only impacts on education, in particular a requirement for all trainee pharmacists to have a Designated Prescribing Practitioner, but also potentially for service delivery in the future.
Pharmacy technicians are a registered profession. The GPhC regulatory standards for Initial Education and Training (IET) of pharmacy technicians requires completion of a recognised accredited training programme and at least two years’ time-in-practice working as a Pre-registration Trainee Pharmacy Technician (PTPT) under the supervision of a registered pharmacy professional (see Section 3.5 for more details). The GPhC is currently undertaking a review of the IET standards for pharmacy technicians to ensure that it reflects the developments in core pharmacy technician roles and the needs of the service. For example, from June 2024, registered pharmacy technicians have been able to supply and administer medicines under patient Group Directions (PGDs), following amendments made to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. Additionally, potential changes around Supervision may lead to changes within community pharmacy skill mix models increasing pharmacy technician responsibilities.
Pharmacy Support Staff are a non-registered part of the pharmacy workforce, practising under a range of titles including Pharmacy Assistant, Dispensing Assistant, Pharmacy Support Worker, Assistant Technical Officer, within the pharmacy team and working across all sectors. The GPhC currently approves pharmacy support staff education and training requirements. The GPhC is currently undertaking a review of its regulatory role and responsibilities in relation to pharmacy support staff education and training.
The SQA Diploma in Pharmacy Services is available as a Technical Apprenticeship and the SVQ in Pharmacy Services at SCQF Level 6 is available as a Modern Apprenticeship. The use of apprenticeships, which allow learners to Earn As You Learn (EAYL), is aligned to the NHS ambitions of becoming exemplar anchor institutions, as well as widening access to education and rewarding careers within the health and social care.
3 Training market information
3.1 Introduction
Registration as a Pharmacist with the GPhC involves completing a GPhC accredited MPharm course, completing a Foundation Training Year (formerly known as year of Pre-registration training), completing the GPhC’s registration assessment, and meeting the fitness to practise requirements for registration.
3.2 MPharm courses in Scotland
Two universities in Scotland offer GPhC accredited MPharm programmes.
There are 30 accredited providers in the rest of the UK. Scotland has two approved providers of MPharm programmes with NES delivering the national Foundation Training Year (formally known as year of Pre-registration training). Scottish students are funded by the public sector through the SFC.
The total amount of funding allocated by the SFC to support teaching in Scotland depends on the number of full-time equivalent students and the subject price. The 2023-24 SFC Final Funding Allocation announcement reports that the gross subject price for pharmacy for academic year 2024-25 remained unchanged from 2023-24 at £10,077.
Students from the rest of the UK pay tuition fees set by each university. In academic year 2024-25, MPharm tuition fees for students from the rest of the UK were £9,250 at both RGU and Strathclyde.
From academic year 2021-22 EU students are not funded by the public sector as a result of the UK leaving the EU. In academic year 2024-25, MPharm tuition fees at RGU for EU students were £9,250 and for overseas, non-EU students were £19,400. For academic year 2024-25 at Strathclyde, tuition fees for all overseas students have been set at £27,750 per year (Year 1 only £25,250).
There are several demand side subsidies to support students studying at universities in Scotland but, unlike students on dentistry, nursing and midwifery or allied health professional programmes, there is no additional financial support for pharmacy students.
3.2.1 Applications to MPharm programmes
UCAS collects data on applications for and acceptances into all university courses. These data comprise the number of applications through the main application scheme and number of accepted places via all application routes. We report the latest available data here which relate to courses starting in 2024.
The number of acceptances onto MPharm courses at Strathclyde dropped slightly in 2024 from the highpoint in 2021, but still high over the period. Acceptances at RGU increased.
The ratio of applications to accepted places is an indicator of the demand for MPharm places relative to the supply of these places. Demand for places rose sharply at Strathclyde, and slightly at RGU.
3.2.2 MPharm students
HESA collects an annual record for each student in training from UK universities in September each academic year. We report the latest available data which relate to academic year 2022-23.
3.2.2.1 Four-year MPharm programme
Prior to 2014, most students entered into year one of the programme but between 2014 and 2016 all new students at Strathclyde entered year two of a five-year integrated Masters programme. From academic year 2017 the University of Strathclyde enabled year 1 entry for some students under the Scottish Government’s Widening Access programme. These students follow the Biomedical Sciences curriculum in their first year.
MPharm intake sizes have varied over time at both institutions but the intake in 2022-23 was 300. The intake rose slightly in Strathclyde but fell in RGU to be more similar to 2019.
3.2.3 Student demographics
3.2.3.1 Age
The mean age of students on entry to the four-year MPharm programme between 2005-06 and 2022-23 was 19.74 at RGU and 19.36 at Strathclyde. Students beginning an MPharm course in 2022-23 at University of Strathclyde were younger than those at RGU.
3.2.3.2 Sex
The sex distribution has been similar at both providers during the sample period with females accounting for about 69.53% of new entrants on the four-year programme.
3.2.3.3 Domicile
The percentage of Scottish-domiciled students has been higher overall at Strathclyde over the period 2010 - 2021 than at RGU. However in 2021/22, the proportion of Scottish-domiciled students in RGU increased and was very similar to the number in Strathclyde. in 2022/23, the proportion of Scotish-domiciled students in both universities returned to the proportion seen in RGU between 2017 - 2020.
In the past year, the percentage of students entering Strathclyde and RGU from non-EEA countries have increased to 19% and 17% respectively, an increase from the 3% in both universities in 2021.
3.2.3.4 SIMD Quintiles
The SIMD combines a set of indicators across domains including income, employment, health, education, skills and training, housing, geographic access and crime and is available for students who were domiciled in Scotland on application. SIMD Q1 represents students from the most deprived 20% of areas.
Between academic year 2010-11 and 2022-23 10.3% of students were from the most deprived 20% of areas, while 36.3% were from the least deprived 20%. The student intake at University of Strathclyde has been increasingly evenly distributed across SIMD quintiles over the past five intakes.
3.2.4 Probability of completing
The probability of completing an MPharm course within four years was 0.73 at RGU and 0.83 at the University of Strathclyde.
The probability of completing an MPharm course within six years was 0.87 at RGU and 0.91 at the University of Strathclyde.
3.3 2024 Foundation Training Year Exit Survey
3.3.1 Introduction
To register and practise as a pharmacist in Great Britain, pharmacy graduates have to successfully complete 12-months of Foundation Training and then pass a GPhC registration assessment. The Foundation Training year (FTY) was introduced by the GPhC with the 2021-22 Cohort of trainee pharmacists; however, the Pre-Registration Pharmacist Scheme (PRPS) (as it was formally known) was introduced in Scotland in 2006. The training year has three main components: a centralised recruitment process, a standardised training programme and quality management processes for premises and supervisors. NES pays a training grant to the employers of the FTY trainee pharmacists, which covers trainee pharmacists salaries at AfC band 5 and any additional employment costs. The pharmacists who successfully complete the FTY in Scotland are therefore one source of inflow into the pharmacy workforce in Scotland.
NES receives funding from Scottish Government for a fixed number of FTY posts each training year. Numbers of funded posts have been increased since 2018 in response to the increase in demand for Pharmacists working in Primary Care. A further increase has been agreed from 2020 to 235 funded posts per year in an attempt to increase numbers and contribute to employing an extra 120 Pharmacists in Scotland. The number of funded places available for FTY 2024/25 is 220. The ‘fill rate’ indicates the number of FTY posts that have been successfully matched during he recruitment process. This may not reflect the cohort numbers on commencement of training. The following table presents numbers of funded posts to 2024 and the latest available data on recruitment.
Each year NES asks the PRPS/FTY trainees to complete an exit survey about their career plans when they are about to finish their training.
3.3.2 Results
There were 221 responses to the NES PRPS/FTY exit survey, a response rate of 96%.
86.4% of respondents qualified from a pharmacy school in Scotland.
69.7% of respondents identified themselves as British Nationals. 22.2% reported other nationalities and 8.1% did not respond.
Respondents indicated their intentions with regard to where they intended to work during the next stage of their career:
81% of respondents indicated an intention to work in Scotland only.
Respondents also indicated intentions with regard to the sector they intended to work in:
75% of respondents planned to stay within the same sector and 10% planned to switch to another sector.
Respondents who indicated that they intended to stay within the same sector were asked to rate the importance of various reasons for doing so:
The most popular reasons related to job security, opportunities to undertake further training and support networks.
3.4 Post-registration Pharmacist training
3.4.1 Pharmacist Independent prescribing training
Pharmacists can register as an IP after completing a GPhC accredited course at either University of Strathclyde or Robert Gordon University. The courses are funded by NES. Courses typically take between 6 and 12 months to complete including academic and experiential components and requires sign off by a Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP).
This year NES commissioned a total of 415 IP places, to support delivery of the NHS Pharmacy First Plus service in community pharmacy, delivery of pharmacist-led clinics in primary care as part of the pharmacotherapy service, and inpatient and outpatient prescribing in secondary care. There were 5 intakes to the Scottish GPhC accredited Independent Prescribing Courses; 2 at Robert Gordon University and 3 at University of Strathclyde between April 2024 and March 2025.
The chart below shows the number of funded and qualifying IPs together with the cumulative number of trained and in-training, patient-facing IPs in each year. 415 IPs qualified in 2024.
A national Post-registration Foundation programme for newly-qualified pharmacists was implemented in Scotland in 2021 to provide a standardised approach to training across all sectors of pharmacy practice. The previous programme was predominantly undertaken in Acute and Primary Care but was extended into Community Pharmacy practice from Autumn 2021. This supports development of newly-qualified pharmacists prior to undertaking their Independent Prescribing qualification: the Independent Prescribing qualification being a core part of the programme.
The following table presents data from the 2024 NES Pharmacist Prescribing report showing IP training and activity levels across the three sectors of Pharmacy practice.
3.5 Pharmacy Technician training
3.5.1 Pre-registration Pharmacy Technician Training (SQA)
Registration with the GPhC as a Pharmacy Technician in Great Britain requires completing a recognised accredited training programme which meets the Initial Education and Training Standards for Pharmacy Technicians (IETPT) and at least two years time-in-practice working as a Pre-registration Trainee Pharmacy Technician (PTPT) under the supervision of a registered pharmacy professional. The pharmacy technician registration entry requirements including approved courses and time-in-practice is published on the GPhC website.
The SQA Diploma in Pharmacy Services was developed to meet the current IETPT and address the gaps identified by pharmacy employers in Scotland. The diploma is comprised of two courses which must be undertaken concurrently. - SVQ Pharmacy Services at SCQF L8 (workplace competence) - Professional Development Award (PDA) Pharmacy Services at SCQF L7 (underpinning knowledge)
Usually, individuals are employed in a PTPT role for a two-year period while they complete the training and the required time-in-practice. They must then register with the GPhC before taking up a Pharmacy Technician post. Further education providers that wish to deliver the programme to individuals not employed in a PTPT role must have a commitment from pharmacy employers to provide sufficient pharmacy training placements to meet the time-in-practice requirements.
Prior to the delivery of the SQA Diploma in Pharmacy Services, the majority of PTPTs employed in the managed sector, and a small number from community pharmacy, undertook the National Certificate in Pharmacy Services (NC) on a two-year day-release basis with the SVQ Pharmacy Services Level 3 completed in the workplace either at the same time or at a later date. This option has now been fully replaced by the SQA Diploma.
Most community pharmacy contractors, and a small number from the managed sector, continue to use courses in a distance learning format delivered by alternative training providers such NPA or Buttercups.
The number of SVQ certifications more than trebled between academic years 2020/21 and 2021/22 while the number of NCs decreased. This may reflect increased recruitment activity in some Boards, and the use of both the previous NC and SVQ in Pharmacy Services and the current SQA Diploma which contains both PDA in Pharmacy Services and SVQ concurrently as a single qualification.
3.5.2 Pre-registration Pharmacy technician training in the managed sector
The number of PTPTs in the managed sector are recorded in the NHS Scotland Staff and Vacancy Survey. The number of WTE PTPTs in the managed sector has increased over the past 10 years, with a significant spike in 2022, and in 2024 the number has decreased to the lowest value since 2020. The spike in 2022 and 2023 could be attributed to the Scottish Government funded National Scheme for Pre-registration Trainee Pharmacy Technician Training.
3.5.3 Post-registration Pharmacy Technician Training (SQA)
The available data from the SQA includes Pharmacy Technician post-registration qualifications.
The number of certifications in the PDA in Final Accuracy Checking by Pharmacy Technicians and in the HNC in Pharmacy Services Development increased by almost 50% between academic years 2020/21 and 2021/22. Following a decrease in 2022/23, the number of these certifications rose again in 2023/24.
The number of candidates accessing the PDA in Final Accuracy Checking by Pharmacy Technicians course and the PDA in Assessment & Supply of Individual Patients’ Medicines has increased in 2023/24. The units within both these PDAs are now within PTPT training and are being used by pharmacy technicians trained to the previous IET standards. The expectation is that the numbers of pharmacy technicians using these courses will gradually decrease over the next five years.
3.6 Summary
- The ratio of applications to accepted places on four-year MPharm courses in Scotland has been increasing at both providers over the past two years.
- The intake to MPharm courses in Scotland in 2022 was 300, the largest intake in recent years.
- The percentage of first-year Scottish-domiciled MPharm students decreased from 92.42% in 2012-13 to 78.22% in 2022-23.
- The probability of completing the programme in Scotland was 0.8 within four years and 0.89 within six years.
- The latest PRPS/FTY survey found that most respondents (86.4%) qualified from a school of pharmacy in Scotland and 81% planned to remain in Scotland.
- 415 IPs qualified in Scotland in 2024.
- There were 115 WTE Pre-registration Trainee Pharmacy Technicians in the managed sector in 2024.
4 Labour Market Information
This chapter reports information on the labour market for pharmacy staff and includes information from the NHS Scotland staff and vacancy survey, the 2024 Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey, the 2024 Aseptic Dispensing Workforce Survey and the average earnings of pharmacy staff in Scotland.
4.1 NHS Scotland staff and vacancy survey
4.1.1 Staff in post
The following section presents WTE staff in post on September 30th 2024 for Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacy Support Staff (Pharmacy Assistants, Administration & Clerical, and Other). These figures do not include staff in training - numbers reflect trained staff only. Results are presented by region, NHS Board and sector.
There were 77.28 Band 5 FTY Trainee Pharmacists in post in 2024, a 29.9% increase from the 2023 survey. FTY Trainee Pharmacists are not included in the numbers of Pharmacists reported here.
The total number of WTE staff in post on September 30th 2024 was 4147.7, an 6.8% increase on the 2023 survey.
The WTE numbers by staff group were 1891 Pharmacists (a 2.8% increase from 2023), 1248.9 Pharmacy Technicians (a 12.2% increase), and 1007.9 Pharmacy Support Staff (a 8.2% increase).
Each Regional grouping is a subset of all NHS Scotland Boards:
- North Region consists of NHS Shetland, NHS Orkney, NHS Western Isles, NHS Highland, NHS Grampian, and NHS Tayside
- East Region consists of NHS Lothian, NHS Fife, and NHS Borders
- West Region consists of NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Dumfries & Galloway, NHS Ayrshire & Arran, and NHS Lanarkshire
- National & Special consists of Healthcare Improvement Scotland, NHS 24, NHS National Education for Scotland, NHS National Services Scotland, NHS Scotland Pharmaceutical Special Services, National Waiting Times Centre and Public Health Scotland.
The number of WTE Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technician and Support Staff have continued to increase.
WTE in Primary Care and Acute Hospitals in 2024 are similar to the WTE in 2023. This follows a large rise in the WTE in the Primary Care sector over the past 10 years. WTE numbers of Pharmacy Technicians in the Acute sector have been relatively stable over the past five or six years.
From 2022, the NHS Scotland staff and vacancy survey reports numbers for Mental Health and Community Hospitals separately. Full results of the latest survey are available on NES’ Turas Data Intelligence website.
NHS boards cover a wide range of different sizes of population. There chart below show the number of staff per 10,000 of population in each board.
4.2 Vacancies
The vacancy rate provides an indication of an employer’s demand for labour.
The vacancy rates in Scotland on 30th September 2024 were 7.8% for Pharmacists, 6.7% for Pharmacy Technicians and 7.3% for Pharmacy Support staff. The vacancy rates for both Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians have fallen slightly since the high point in 2022, returning to the rates seen prior to 2021.
The pharmacy support staff vacancy rate, which had seen a large increase due to NHS Lanarkshire’s pharmacotherapy staffing model in 2021, continued to decrease in 2024.
During the 2024 processing, an error was discovered in the calculations for the vacancy rates within the pharmacy report. As a result, the vacancy rates from 2014 - 2023 have been revised.
The following tables present vacancy rates for the three staff groupings of Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacy Support staff (Pharmacy Support Workers, Administration & Clerical, and Other). Results are presented by region, NHS Board and sector.
There is considerable variation in the vacancy rate between NHS boards.
The vacancy rates for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians is highest in the Community Hospital sector. For Pharmacy Support staff the vacancy rate is highest in the Primary Care sector.
Several boards had no staff in post or vacancies for Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacy Support Staff. The null vacancy rate in these cases is denoted by a dash (“-”).
4.3 Community Pharmacy
The 2024 Community Pharmacy Survey was undertaken by NES in conjunction with CPS. Independent community pharmacies and pharmacies in the CCA were asked to supply information on staff and vacancies for the week commencing Saturday 16th September 2024.
There were 1496.9 WTE Pharmacists, 734.6 WTE Pharmacy Technicians and 3530.4 WTE Pharmacy Support Staff in post.
Pharmacists accounted for 19% of the overall WTE. The largest staff group was Dispensing Assistants which accounted for 36.7% of the overall WTE.
After decreasing between 2022 and 2023, the Numbers of WTE Pharmacists in 2024 rose slightly to 2,122. The national vacancy rate for Pharmacists decreased from 14.6% to 4.8% between the 2023 and 2024 surveys.
The vacancy rate for Pharmacy Technicians with accuracy checking over the same period fell from 9.8% to 2.2% and the vacancy rate for Medicines Counter Assistant fell from 6.3% to 0.3%.
Full results of the 2024 survey are available on NES’ Turas Data Intelligence website.
4.4 GPhC Registrants
The GPhC collects data on the number (headcount) of registered Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians with a registered address in Scotland. The table below shows the headcount of registrants in September 2024 compared to headcount numbers of these roles employed in the NHS and the Community Pharmacy sector in September 2023 (employment figures do not include Locum Pharmacists and may not capture all Pharmacists working in a relief capacity).
*Source: General Pharmaceutical Council, NES
There are approximately 1,400 more Pharmacists in Scotland registered with the GPhC than there are employed in the Community and NHS managed sectors. However, the figures on the Community pharmacy workforce do not include headcount data for self-employed locum pharmacists. The employment data also does not include people employed by the universities, GPhC, RPS, Colleges, the pharmaceutical industry, or other related employers.
The the GPhC data contains breakdowns of registrant occupational groups by gender and 10-year age bands.
4.5 Aseptic Dispensing Workforce
Data on the Aseptic Dispensing Workforce is collected annually to support workforce planning for a new service model within NHS Scotland Boards. NES collects data on staff in post, vacancies, length of service and the distribution of aseptic dispensing tasks across AfC bands.
On 30 September 2024 there were 244.9 WTE aseptic dispensing staff in post, a 2.4% increase from September 2023. Of these staff 47.3% (115.9 WTE) were Pharmacy Technicians, 27% (66.2 WTE) were Pharmacy Support Workers, 20.3% (49.8 WTE) were Pharmacists and 5.3% (13.1 WTE) were classed as Other.
64% of Aseptic Dispensing staff in fixed posts have been working in NHS Scotland for 10 years or less.
The number of WTE vacancies in the workforce was 26.5WTE (a 16.7% increase since 2023).
4.6 Shortage Occupations
Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical technicians are eligible for a skilled worker visa.
An occupation that appears on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) indicates that there is a shortage of skilled workers in the UK. Employers who wish to recruit an individual from outside the UK to fill a vacancy that is on the SOL may issue a Tier 2 certificate of sponsorship (CoS) without the need to demonstrate that a resident labour market test (RLMT) has been carried out.
Pharmacists were added to the list following a review by the Migration Advisory Committee recommending addition to the list in 2020. Pharmaceutical technicians were added to the Shortage Occupation List in October 2023.
4.7 Earnings
The earnings of 1% of UK employees is published as part of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) by SOC 2020 code. Therefore, these data include employees in both the hospital and community sectors. We report the latest available data here which relates to 2024. The latest years data are provisional. All the hourly pay below are in 2024 prices.
Real median gross hourly pay for Pharmacists increased from £25.89 in 2021 to £27.45 in 2024. Hourly pay remained steady for Dispensing Assistants. Earnings for Pharmacy technicians were unavailable in 2022.
4.8 Summary
- The 2024 NHS Scotland staff and vacancy survey (covering Acute, Central, Mental Health, Community and Primary Care) showed a total of 4147.7 WTE staff in post, a 6.8% increase on the 2023 survey.
- Numbers of WTE Managed Sector staff in September 2024 were 1,891 Pharmacists, 1,248.8 Pharmacy Technicians, and 1,007.9 Pharmacy Support staff. There were 159.1 WTE Pharmacist vacancies (a vacancy rate of 7.8%), 90.1 Pharmacy Technician vacancies (6.7%), and 79.6 Pharmacy Support Staff vacancies (7.3%).
- Since the last Staff and Vacancy survey, the WTE remained steady for Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacy Support Staff. The vacancy rates for all three staff groups decreased.
- There was variation between NHS Boards in the number of WTE staff per 10,000.
- Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical technicians are on the UK Shortage Occupation List.
- Based on a comparison of GPhC Scottish Registrant data and combined employment data from the Scottish Community and Managed sectors, there are approximately 1,400 more Pharmacists registered with the GPhC than there are in employment.
- Real median gross hourly pay for Pharmacists in Scotland decreased in 2024 to £27.45 per hour. Hourly pay increased slightly in 2024 for Pharmacy Technicians and remained steady for Dispensing Assistants.