Pharmacists at breaking point as staffing crisis deepens across Newfoundland and Labrador
The Association of Allied Health Professionals (AAHP) is sounding the alarm on a rapidly escalating crisis, warning that severe staffing shortages among pharmacists in the public sector, excessive demands and uncompetitive pay are pushing the health care system to a breaking point and jeopardizing patient care.
The association is calling upon government to speed up its processes and take the necessary action now to help retain these critical health care professionals.
Based on information available to AAHP, pharmacist vacancy rates in the public sector have been soaring and are now approaching 20% overall across the province. At a regional and community level, particularly in rural areas, the situation is far more dire with vacancy rates of 40% to 75% in some hospitals.
“These are not manageable shortages — this is a system under significant strain,” said AAHP President Gord Piercey. “Pharmacists are doing everything they can to hold patient care together, but they are being stretched far beyond their limits.”
Piercey notes that AAHP has had some productive discussions with Government and the NL Health Services over the past year and that all parties acknowledge the seriousness of the issues. However, pharmacists are being told solutions, such as wage adjustments, must move through “normal processes” — despite the situation continuing to deteriorate.
“This is not a normal situation so normal processes are not sufficient,” said Piercey. “When vacancy rates reach 50 to 75 percent in some areas, and patient services are already being impacted, the response cannot take months or years.”
AAHP is calling on NL Health Services and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to take urgent, targeted action to stabilize the workforce, including:
- Immediate measures to improve compensation and competitiveness
- Accelerated recruitment and retention strategies
- Relief from excessive workloads and overtime reliance
- Direct engagement with frontline pharmacists on solutions
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