Help for pharmacists, their dependents and pharmacy students facing difficulties is available through the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Benevolent Fund.
For more information, click on the links below:
The Benevolent Fund is a registered charity that offers help to pharmacists, former pharmacists and their dependants and pharmacy students.
Working under the provisions of an up-to-date Declaration of Trust agreed with the Charity Commission in November 2006, a board of eight individual Trustees now administers the fund with the object of providing relief in cases of financial need or other distress among pharmacists. The Trustees act wholly independently of the Society.
For the Benevolent Fund 2007 financial statements, click on the link below:
In preparation for launching a modernised and expanded Benevolent Fund in September 2008, the Trustees invited pharmacists' views on shaping its future direction. Views were invited by 11 April 2008.
For more information, click here
Direct support for individuals from the Benevolent Fund may take the form of financial assistance or pastoral support.
Whatever the nature of the problem, whether financial, ill health, disability, accident or bereavement, each application will be assessed according to need and decisions will be reached quickly and in confidence. Application forms are available from the co-ordinator of the fund.
The Benevolent Fund's staff welcome enquiries. Where it is not possible for the fund to assist, they will offer information about possible alternative sources of help.
For further information about any aspect of the fund, including information about convalescence or places that offer a restful environment, please contact the Benevolent Fund manager:
Tel/Fax 01323 890135
e-mail: benevolentfund@rpsgb.org
The Listening Friends Scheme offers a free listening service to pharmacists suffering from stress.
The scheme is backed by the Benevolent Fund and manned by volunteers who are all pharmacists. It operates completely independently of the Society and help can be sought anonymously. The service allows any pharmacist under stress to talk to a fellow pharmacist who has received appropriate training and has particular insight into the pressures that apply in pharmacy. The service is not however restricted to work-related problems, but offers help with all causes of stress, such as family problems, illness and bereavement.
To obtain help from the Listening Friends Scheme, a pharmacist should initially telephone the scheme's automatic answering service on 020 7572 2442. Callers will be given brief details of the service and asked to leave a first name, a contact telephone number and a convenient time to call. A "Listening Friend" will then call back, normally on the evening of the same day or within 24 hours, to discuss the details of the pharmacist's problem.
Contact:
Tel: 020 7572 2442
The Pharmacists Health Support Programme provides help for pharmacists who experience problems with alcohol or other drugs of addiction, or who have problems that may impair their fitness to practise. The programme is funded by the Benevolent Fund but operates independently of the Society and the fund and help may be sought confidentially.
Any pharmacist with an alcohol or drug problem, or any person knowing a pharmacist with such a problem, can obtain confidential help by contacting the independent national co-ordinator. The programme also helps the immediate families of pharmacists.
Contact:
National co-ordinator
Tel: 01327 264531
Members are invited to make regular or one-off donations to the Benevolent Fund, and where possible are encouraged to make their gift under the Gift Aid Scheme.
For a downloadable donation form, click on the link below: