Welcome to the Rural Emergency Locum Service - "ELS"
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia and The Pharmaceutical Locum Company are proud to announce the launch of a groundbreaking new service that will tackle the problem of obtaining locums in rural and remote areas.
Emergency Locum Service Brings Relief to Rural Pharmacists
The Emergency Locum Service (ELS) scheme is funded under the Fourth Community Pharmacy Agreement between The Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Australian Government, represented by the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA). The scheme is an initiative of the Rural Pharmacy Workforce Program (RPWP), established in recognition of the key role pharmacists play in maintaining the health of all Australians, particularly in rural and remote Australia. The objectives of the RPWP are aimed at increasing access to pharmacy services in rural and remote areas and strengthening and supporting the rural pharmacy workforce. The objective of the Emergency Locum Service is to support pharmacists in rural and remote areas through direct access to pharmacist locums in emergency situations. The Service will comprise a central toll free fax, phone number and website that pharmacists in need of an emergency locum would contact. These locums will be deployed at short notice to provide locum relief in emergency situations.
Definitions
The primary aim of the Emergency Locum Service is to alleviate the hardships faced by pharmacists based in rural and remote communities in accessing locum services in urgent and emergency situations. An emergency is defined as:
- where the pharmacist is unable to undertake dispensing duties or to fully and effectively operate the pharmacy due to illness or injury;
- where a family emergency requires the pharmacist to be present at an alternative location, or take action that renders him/her unavailable to undertake dispensing duties or to fully and effectively operate the pharmacy; (“family emergency” is defined as illness or injury to a member of immediate family; illness or injury to a dependent relative; bereavement due to death of a member of immediate family).
The Emergency Locum Service will provide access to emergency locum placements for pharmacists located in rural or remote locations. Rural and Remote is deemed to be Accessible (Group A & B), Moderately Accessible, Remote, or Very Remote (PhARIA categories 2-6), as defined by the Pharmacy Accessibility Remoteness Index of Australia (PHARIA). The PhARIA index can be accessed at http://www.gisca.adelaide.edu.au/projects/pharia.html .
SERVICES
A) COMMUNITY PHARMACIES (PHARIA 2-6)
The Emergency Locum Service will include:
- Telephone and fax access to a toll free number. The availability of the telephone access will be continuous – 7 days per week, 24 hours per day.
- The availability of pharmacist locums within a reasonable period, 24 hours wherever possible.
- The Service will fund travel costs not exceeding $2500 (ex GST) to the pharmacist locum, to cover all travel costs between the locum’s home and the locum location.
- There is no limit on the number of times an individual may access the service, subject to provision of adequate documentation.
B) COMMUNITY PHARMACIES (PHARIA 1) AND HOSPITALS
The Emergency Locum Service will include:
- Telephone and fax access to a toll free number. The availability of the telephone access will be continuous – 7 days per week, 24 hours per day.
- The availability of pharmacist locums within a reasonable period, 24 hours wherever possible.
- Funding does NOT cover travel costs of locum.
- A fee for recruitment will be charged.
Should you have an emergency situation please contact us on 1800 357001; we will advise you if you are now covered by the service and if your particular circumstance qualifies for funding.
Testimonials
Norm Ferrier, a community pharmacist based at Warrnambool in remote western Victoria, explained some of the background to the rural locum crisis.
"It is virtually impossible to obtain locums due to the distance from Melbourne. Most locums enjoy working here and the town has very modern facilities - gyms, movies, clubs. Distance is the crucial factor - in emergencies it is virtually impossible to secure a locum at short notice. An Emergency Locum Service, that can locate a locum willing to travel to rural and remote locations and get a locum here at no cost to you for the airfares - the biggest expense in getting a locum out to the bush - will, I think, be strongly supported by rural and remote pharmacists."
John Haynes, a community pharmacist working in Cairns, Queensland, explained the degree of difficulty facing rural pharmacists in accessing locums in both emergency and conventional circumstances.
"To get a locum at the best of times, for holidays and other planned absences, I have to start searching for a locum up to a year in advance. In emergency situations we have no hope of finding a locum at short notice and the only option is to close for a few days. The launch of this Service will be absolutely wonderful for regional pharmacists."