Pharmacy staff facing ‘escalating abuse’ from patients, poll finds
Pharmacy staff are facing “escalating abuse” from patients while at work, with reports of racism, verbal attacks and violence, a survey has found.
Around one in five pharmacy owners said verbal abuse was a daily occurrence, according to Community Pharmacy England.
The organisation is calling for stronger protection for workers, as well as a zero-tolerance approach to violence or threats.
The poll of 289 pharmacy owners, who represent a more than 3,000 pharmacies, found more than half (55%) had faced verbal abuse in the last six months.
Three-quarters of those had experienced this weekly, while around one in five (21%) said it was a daily occurrence.
Those who responded to the poll described experiencing racist, religious, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, and xenophobic abuse directed at staff.
One said a patient had refused to be served by a pharmacist with headscarf.
While physical abuse was less common, 6% of pharmacies reported assaults in the last six months, ranging from strangulation, pushing, punching and attacks after closing time.
Pharmacy owners told the survey of knife attacks, having chairs thrown at staff and patients coming behind the counter and strangling pharmacists.
Another said their “much-respected” pharmacy manager has put his notice in to take early retirement after being assaulted by a patient.
Janet Morrison, chief executive of Community Pharmacy England, said: “Pharmacy teams are the backbone of community healthcare.
“They should never face any kind of abuse, racism, discrimination, threats or violence just for doing their jobs.
“These findings reflect escalating abuse in one of the NHS’s most accessible frontline services and they show an urgent need for stronger system-wide protections.
“Pharmacy staff deserve to be treated with kindness and respect.
“We will continue to raise awareness and push for measures to keep pharmacy teams safe. Pharmacies have to be included on priority lists for protection and support and must remain safe spaces for both patients and the teams who serve them.”
Mark Donaghy, professional development manager at Kamsons Pharmacy, which has more than 80 pharmacies across England, said while the majority of people treat staff with respect, even isolated incidents “can have a profound and lasting impact”.
Kamsons has backed Community Pharmacy England’s call for stronger protection for pharmacy staff and a zero-tolerance approach to violence or threats.
Mr Donaghy added: “No pharmacy worker should ever face abuse or violence in the course of providing care.”
Dervis Gurol, owner and superintendent pharmacist of Healthy-U Pharmacy in Saltdean, said abuse has taken a “real toll” on his team.
“It deeply affects morale, retention, and their safety,” he said.
“In my pharmacy, we’ve invested in screens at counters, CCTV, and maintain good links to police community support officers, but not all pharmacies have access to these protections.
“Basic security or protection should be standardised and fully funded for all pharmacy premises. It is unacceptable that staff bear the brunt of people’s anger.
“The Government needs to take a strict stance on abuse of all healthcare staff including pharmacy teams.
“If attacking a police officer and other emergency workers is a serious offence, the same should apply to community pharmacy staff.”
Reacting to the findings, Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, said there has been “an alarming rise” in threats, abuse and assaults on staff in “recent months and years”.
“In particular, we have heard of a rise in racist abuse directed towards pharmacy teams,” he added.
“When pharmacies report these issues to both the police and wider NHS, all too often the response is inadequate.
“We need the NHS to offer pharmacies similar support given to other colleagues in primary care, to protect their staff and their premises.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub