While Advanced Pharmacy Australia (AdPha) has welcomed the Crisafulli Government’s announcement last week (5 January) of a record intake of graduate doctors into Queensland Health, it warns that without comparable investment in hospital pharmacy interns, Queensland risks undermining medicines safety and the long-term sustainability of its health system.
AdPha’s State of Pharmacy: Workforce Insights 2025 report shows that 12.8% of hospitals
report pharmacy intern vacancies, alongside widespread shortages of pharmacists and technicians.
Alarmingly, according to the report, 75% of hospitals reduced pharmacy services in the past 12 months due to workforce constraints, despite 99.3% of hospitals having additional beds funded for the next 2 years.
Putting patients at risk
AdPha President Assoc. Prof. Tom Simpson FANZCAP (Lead&Mgmt) says the disconnect between health system growth and pharmacy workforce investment was placing patients at risk.
“Medicines are the most common intervention in healthcare, yet pharmacy resourcing is not keeping pace with growing demand,” he says.
“You can build more beds and recruit more doctors, but without enough hospital pharmacists coming through the pipeline, patients will face delays, increased risk of medication errors, and fragmented care.”
‘Hospital pharmacy interns aren’t optional extras’
Assoc. Prof. Simpson says the number of pharmacy interns has declined over the past decade and is now approximately 35 interns, a figure acknowledged in Queensland Health’s Pharmacy Workforce Plan 2022–2032, showing increasing intern positions as a critical activity and indicator of success.
“Hospital pharmacy interns are not optional extras – they are essential to safe, high-quality care,” says Assoc. Prof. Simpson.
“They support multidisciplinary teams, improve patient outcomes, and ensure medicines expertise is embedded across the entire health system.
“Their contribution is particularly critical in regional and rural hospitals, where workforce shortages are often most acute.”
Investment critically needed
To address the growing gap between demand and workforce capacity, AdPha has called for a $219 million investment over four years, including funding for 200 hospital pharmacy intern positions annually from 2026 to 2029, progression into 2-year Resident Training Programs from 2027, and the recruitment of clinical educators to ensure high-quality supervision and long-term workforce sustainability.
Assoc Prof. Simpson says this is critical to supporting the future health of Queenslanders.
“If Queensland is serious about strengthening its health system, investment in pharmacy interns must match its ambition for medical workforce growth,” he says.
“Every patient deserves timely, safe access to medicines – and that starts with building
and sustaining the hospital pharmacy workforce of the future.”
