Key Summary
- Inquiry chair, Heather Hallett, said the NHS, with its overstretched healthcare systems, “came close to collapse” during the pandemic.
- NPA chief executive Henry Gregg says the pharmacies played a heroic role against the odds to maintain medicine supply and expand vaccination services.
- RPS president Claire Anderson says, “Pharmacy teams were on the frontline of the pandemic, but all too often were at the back of the queue when asking for support."
The UK's healthcare system “came close to collapse” and coped thanks to the “superhuman” efforts of healthcare workers, an official inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic released on Thursday (19) has concluded.
The Covid-19 inquiry chair, Heather Hallett, said the NHS, with its overstretched healthcare systems, was in a “parlous state” before the pandemic, and hence the impact was “devastating”.
Hallet said, “Healthcare workers carried the burden of caring for the sick in unprecedented numbers. They were obliged to work under intolerable pressure for months on end.”
“Patients could not be admitted to hospitals and, in particular, into intensive care units. The pressure was, at times, intolerable. This continued for wave after wave of the virus.”
The report is the third of 10 due to be published as part of the official Covid-19 inquiry, which finished taking evidence earlier this month, almost three years after hearings began.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) gave evidence to and was a core participant of the official inquiry.
NPA's former chair, Nick Kaye, had deposed that during the pandemic, community pharmacy took “on a bigger role as a first port of call for patients struggling to access other parts of the health service”.
- Despite the rising costs of community pharmacies over recent years, funding has not increased since 2016.
- In August 2019, there were 14,296 registered pharmacies in Great Britain. By August 2022, this number had reduced to 13,846.
- During the pandemic, community pharmacies experienced an increase in the number of patients seeking advice for both minor and more serious conditions, a tripling of phone calls to pharmacies, and a rise in the number of prescriptions being dispensed and delivered.
- The shielding programme also increased the workload of community pharmacies. In April 2020, pharmacies in England began delivering medicines to the shielded population as part of an NHS England service, and similar schemes operated in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- A survey of community pharmacists in England, Scotland and Wales showed that, across the pandemic, about 95% were at high risk of burn-out.
- Community pharmacists also felt underappreciated, particularly when they were not treated in the same way as those working in other areas.
- Community pharmacists were not initially included in the life assurance scheme for “NHS frontline health and social care staff” in England that was announced in April 2020.
- The scheme provided £60,000 to the families of healthcare workers who died after contracting Covid-19 at work.
- Three days after the scheme was announced, Matt Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from July 2018 to June 2021, posted a social media message stating that community pharmacists were included in the scheme.
- The initial exclusion made individuals working in community pharmacy who were aware of it feel like an afterthought, which was “demotivating and demoralising for those people giving that care”.
NPA chief executive Henry Gregg said, “The current meningitis outbreak shows that deadly disease can strike our communities at any time, which is why it’s imperative that government should act immediately on the recommendations from the Covid inquiry to ensure that the pharmacy network and the wider health service is strong and prepared for a health crisis whenever it happens.
“Today’s report makes harrowing reading, and shows clearly that the health system teetered on the brink during the pandemic. The inquiry chair is right to say that supporting the pharmacy network is a necessity to cope with any future health crisis - that process must start right now to reverse a decade of underfunding that is leaving too many pharmacies in a perilous position.
“The testimony of NPA members and others in this report shows that pharmacies played a heroic role against the odds to maintain medicine supply and expand vaccination services during the pandemic, and need support and funding so they are always there to serve in the future.
"As this report notes, it is unacceptable that pharmacies were not supported in the same way as other health professionals, despite their heroic efforts when much of the rest of the primary care system shut down.
“At a time when people are rightly concerned about the current meningitis outbreak, we need to heed the lessons of the pandemic and provide proper support for our pharmacy network which does much to protect our communities, during Covid and today.”
Beyond the call of duty: RPS
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) was also designated as a core participant in the inquiry, enabling it to make representations through legal representatives.
RPS president Claire Anderson said, “Today’s report recognises the essential role of pharmacists and pharmacy teams during Covid-19.
“Our evidence to the inquiry reflected how pharmacy teams went above and beyond in the face of unprecedented demand and the most challenging of circumstances – supporting patient access to care, maintaining vital access to medicines, and delivering millions of vaccinations.
“Pharmacy teams were on the frontline of the pandemic, but all too often were at the back of the queue when asking for support.
“With continued pressures on the health service and the whole of the workforce, it is crucial that government, the NHS, employers and others act on today’s recommendations, so that we learn from the past and build a more resilient NHS for the future.”
RPS CEO Paul Bennett said, "The pandemic was a particularly difficult period for so many people on both a personal and professional level. The RPS felt the weight of responsibility to ensure that our members were supported to navigate the many challenges confronted as we all discovered more about Covid-19 and its nature.
“I want to pay a personal tribute to all those who were both on the front line and those working hard behind them in support who put all that effort into helping patients and the public, even when it was taking a personal toll on them and their families.
“It was a moment that pharmacists, the wider pharmacy community and pharmaceutical scientists really stepped up to the plate. Society, Government, and the pharmacy profession must ensure that the difficult lessons learned are never forgotten and that the high price paid by those who lost their lives is always remembered."
During the Inquiry process, the RPS had highlighted the vital role pharmacists and pharmacy teams played during the pandemic and set out key issues that should be considered by the inquiry.
- Recognition of pharmacists as key workers.
- The resilience of pharmacy services in the event of a future pandemic or health emergency.
- The impact of medicines shortages on patient care.Investment in and resilience of aseptic pharmacy services.
- The importance of COVID-19 risk assessments for pharmacy teams.
- Eligibility of pharmacists for government life assurance schemes.
- The welfare of pharmacy teams, including infection, prevention and control guidance, and the provision of personal protective equipment.
