What is the “ELS Scheme” and how did it come about?
The Emergency Locum Service provides support to Pharmacists in rural and remote areas through direct access to Pharmacist locums in emergency situations such as illness, bereavement, or family emergencies. The service provides up to $2,500 (GST exclusive) to fund the travel costs of Pharmacist locums to attend a rural or remote Pharmacy, as well as 24-hour/seven-day access to emergency locum telephone services. The service aims to place a locum in any location in Australia within 24 hours, for a maximum of seven days.
The following FAQs are published to assist pharmacies requesting ELS support.
How do I apply for an emergency locum?
You can make an application for an emergency locum at the ELS Provider website or by telephone on 1800 991 541.
Who is eligible to apply for an emergency locum?
A Pharmacy must be:
A Community Pharmacy
Located in a rural or remote location
Unable to undertake dispensing duties or to fully and effectively operate the Pharmacy due to an emergency situation.
What classifies as a rural or remote area?
Eligible locations are classified as having a Modified Monash Model category between 3-7 inclusive. The Health Workforce Locatorcan be used to determine the MM category of a pharmacy by address.
What classifies as an emergency situation?
An emergency situation is defined as:
The Pharmacist is unable to undertake dispensing duties or to fully and effectively operate the Pharmacy due to illness or injury.
A family emergency requires the Pharmacist to be present at an alternate location, or take action that renders themselves unavailable to undertake dispensing duties or to fully and effectively operate the Pharmacy. A family emergency is defined as:
Illness or injury to a member of immediate family
Illness or injury to a dependant relative
Bereavement due to a death of a member of immediate family.
How much funding is available under the ELS Program?
Funding for ELS locum travel is available up to $2,500 (GST exclusive) each time you use the ELS program. There is no limit to the amount of times you can access the Program each year.
How long can I have a locum under the Program?
ELS placements are for a minimum of one day and a maximum of seven consecutive days.
What are the opening hours for ELS?
ELS can be contacted anytime 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
What can I use the funding from ELS to pay for?
ELS funding is only intended to be used to contribute to the travel costs between the locum’s home and the Pharmacy location. Other costs such as locum wages, meals etc. will not be covered.
Do I have input into which locum is placed at my Pharmacy?
No, locum placements are organised by the current ELS provider and the Program Rules stipulate that applicants must accept the locum provided to them.
What hourly rate do I need to offer the locum?
Under the terms of the ELS the rate is $60/hr + superannuation.
What sort of accommodation do I need to provide the locum?
Accommodation needs to be of a reasonable standard, e.g. a self-contained unit or hotel/motel/guesthouse.
How is the travel arranged?
Raven's Recruitment in association with InTravel Group, Australia’s 1st and leading Indigenous Travel Agency (our preferred partner), will organise all transportation requirements between the locum's home and the Pharmacy location. That means, if you need a flight, a train and / or a hire car to get to that pharmacy, we and our travel partners will organise it all. The ELS program funds up to $2,500 + GST to contribute to these costs, and the pharmacy will cover any additional funding requirements.
What you need to provide:
Photo identification - to facilitate flight booking using an E-ticket.
A credit card - just in case you need get a hire care and have to leave a credit card slip as a guarantee (this is standard practice).
Receipts - remember to keep receipts for any out of pocket expenses you incur, we can only reimburse you on presentation of a valid receipt (i.e., if you take a taxi to the airport).
Do you have questions not answered here? Be sure to contact us, we'd be happy to help!
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