The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has advised pharmacy teams to self-isolate if asked to do so by the contact tracers to “protect themselves, their colleagues and patients and the public.”
This comes amid ongoing discussions in England, Scotland and Wales about the potential implications, which could result in temporary closures of independent pharmacies, if all staff in a pharmacy team were asked to self-isolate for 14 days.
In a statement on Monday (June 8), the pharmacy regulator said: “We would encourage all pharmacy owners to review their business continuity plans and risk assessments after considering these implications and identify any further mitigating actions they could take to reduce the risk of whole pharmacy teams having to self-isolate.”
It has further advised contractors to make sure that their staff “are familiar with relevant advice and guidance from governments and the NHS in each country and from the professional leadership bodies within pharmacy,” pointing to the RPS guidance, “which we support.”
“We would expect pharmacy owners to support members of their teams to follow relevant guidance, including on reducing risks of transmission, and to comply with any directions from the testing and tracing services within their country,” the statement added.
