‘No expectation’ of pay for Jhoots locums, says PDA
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There is “no expectation” of locums receiving the fees they are owed by failing pharmacy chain Jhoots, the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) has told C+D.
PDA union director Paul Day said claims for outstanding payment have been “lodged with insolvency practitioners” and “the outcome of their administration will become clear in due course”.
But he added that for locums there is “no expectation of meaningful payment being received, if any payment at all”.
Read more: ‘Next phase’: Kinnock working on GPhC enforcement powers
C+D exclusively revealed in October that locum pharmacists had launched legal action against Jhoots Pharmacy businesses over an “eye-watering” sum of unpaid fees.
And in November, it reported that the payments owed to locums by Jhoots pharmacies had surpassed £1 million.
Read more: Jhoots Pharmacy owed creditors at least £11m, filings reveal
Day told C+D that “hardworking pharmacists” owed money by Jhoots “are having to amend their personal plans and lifestyles to account for the huge gaps in income they have experienced”.
And he said proposals from the Department of Health and Social Care (DH) and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) regarding the “measures they will be taking to prevent such a scenario occurring again” are “outstanding but remain essential”.
“We recognise the impact”
The GPhC told C+D that “following Jhoots businesses going into administration”, the regulator “worked with incoming owners and system partners to support changes of ownership and help pharmacies reopen quickly and restore services in local communities”.
“We continue to engage with the DH, and other partners, to explore how commissioning and regulatory frameworks could be strengthened to support timely and effective responses in similar situations in the future,” it said.
Read more: Exclusive: Unpaid locums take legal action against Jhoots pharmacies
It added that it understands “the distress this situation has caused for locum pharmacists who may be owed money”.
“While we do not have a role in resolving outstanding payments, which is a matter for the administrators, we recognise the impact this has on those individuals and the confidence of the wider pharmacy workforce.”
And a DH spokesperson told C+D that “where pharmacies fall below expected standards, the GPhC and integrated care boards (ICBs) will take action”.
Read more: GPhC to publish ‘transparent’ disqualification policy next year
It comes after pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock in November revealed a plethora of actions taken against businesses under the Jhoots Pharmacy brand - including ICBs working to strip “over 20” Jhoots pharmacies of their NHS contracts, and the GPhC “taking enforcement action against” several Jhoots premises.
And it follows Kinnock in February confirming that the government is “progressing to the next phase” of its work examining the GPhC’s enforcement powers.
Kinnock’s comments came in response to a letter from MP Sadik Al-Hassan, which asked the minister about “strengthening regulatory oversight of pharmacy business owners” following the crisis around Jhoots.
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