Measures to Retain and Improve Salaries for Pharmacy Technicians

7 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Health what can be done to support public hospitals to attract and retain pharmacy technicians.

8 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Health what financial support can be given to public hospitals to allow them to offer competitive salaries to pharmacy technicians.

The Minister of State for Health (Ms Rahayu Mahzam) (for the Minister for Health): Mr Speaker, may I, with your permission, address Question Nos 7 and 8 together?

Mr Speaker: Please proceed.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: The Ministry of Health (MOH) will work with our public healthcare institutions to ensure that there are good career prospects and development opportunities for pharmacy technicians.

The Public Sector Pharmacy Technicians Career Development Pathway (PharmTech CDP) maps out the career progression pathway for pharmacy technicians where they will have the opportunity to take on expanded responsibilities across key areas, such as patient care, procurement, logistics management and medication safety. We will review the PharmTech CDP regularly and raise public awareness of the career and professional development opportunities for pharmacy technicians.

The starting salaries of pharmacy technicians in the public healthcare clusters will increase by 9% in 2023 with additional funding support from MOH. Salaries are reviewed regularly to ensure that they remain competitive.