# \[e-drug\] Brain drain of pharmacists (cont'd) **URL:** \ **Category:** e-drug\ **Created:** [October 24, 2003, 12:03pm UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-brain-drain-of-pharmacists-contd/18031 "2003-10-24T12:03:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jennie\_Lates](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dec6dc/32.png) [@Jennie\_Lates](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/Jennie_Lates)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 12:03pm UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-brain-drain-of-pharmacists-contd/18031/1 "2003-10-24T12:03:35Z")
E-drug: Brain drain of pharmacists (cont'd) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear All, You may be interested to know that a survey is currently being done in the UK of pharmacists who qualified in the UK but are no longer working there. If I remember correctly it is being conducted by a researcher at Manchester University. The surveyor is asking questions about why you have left the UK, what you are currently doing and also what would tempt you to return to work in pharmacy in the UK. Hopefully if developed countries address their issues of shortage of pharmacists (without draining pharmacists from other countries) then this will help to reduce the current drain of pharmacists out of developing countries. However I agree with the previous messages that it is also essential to address pharmacists pay and other conditions of employment in developing countries. Another matter that I feel needs to be addressed (in many developing countries, if not universally) is the image of pharmacists within the health sector and also by the general population. If people really understood the beneficial roles that pharmacists can have in the provision of health services (as opposed to being seen as pill counters) then maybe more emphasis would be put on (recruiting and) retention of pharmacists. In my experience shortages of doctors and nurses in public health services are always addressed more urgently than shortages of pharmacists, leading to pharmacists often being left behind in the drive for improved employment conditions. A previous discussion on e-drug (April 2002) about brain drain of health professionals brought the following information to light; "At the pre World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting in Geneva, May 2001, Commonwealth Health ministers discussed the issues pertaining to international recruitment of health workers. They concluded that since all Commonwealth countries, both developed and developing, were losing skilled health personnel, particularly doctors and nurses. The Commonwealth should agree on a unified approach to deal with the problem. I believe they are currently trying to develop a Commonwealth Code of Practice on International Recruitment for discussion at the 13th Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting (13CHMM). The Secretariat sought guidance from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), UNISON, the representative trade union body for public sector workers in the UK, and the UK Department of Health. A consultative meeting was held in London, 13-14 September 2001 with representatives of these organisations and of Jamaica, Ghana and Nigeria. The meeting discussed the issue in depth and produced a draft code, which was submitted to Ministers at their Meeting in New Zealand (13CHMM)." I believe that the Commonwealth Pharmacy Association was involved with this matter but am not aware of what (if any) progress has been made. Jennie Lates Pharmacist Adviser, PMGH Pharmaceutical Upgrade Project Papua New Guinea Tel : (675) 325 3713 Fax: (675) 323 6629 email : jennie.lates@pup.acil.com.pg -- To send a message to E-Drug, write to: e-drug@healthnet.org To subscribe or unsubscribe, write to: majordomo@healthnet.org in the body of the message type: subscribe e-drug OR unsubscribe e-drug To contact a person, send a message to: e-drug-help@healthnet.org Information and archives: [http://www.essentialdrugs.org/edrug](http://www.essentialdrugs.org/edrug)