The Royal Pharmaceutical Society and UK Black Pharmacists Association have written to ministers in England, Scotland and Wales calling for support for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) pharmacists and team members.
The letters, written jointly by the two organisations and sent to respective ministers in the three countries, follow publication of the Public Health England report which recognised that people from BAME backgrounds were being disproportionately affected by Covid-19.
“The past few weeks have highlighted the longstanding issue of discrimination experienced by people from BAME backgrounds, in the UK as well as around the world,” the letters stated.
“Covid-19 has also shone a spotlight on the urgent need to tackle health inequalities facing certain communities. These are collective challenges that need leadership at the highest levels from governments across Great Britain.”
They called on ministers to engage with the pharmacy profession to bring about real change to support and protect pharmacy workforce.
“A first step from the PHE report must be to ensure robust risk assessment and protection is in place for BAME staff along with other vulnerable groups, such as staff with existing health conditions,” the letters urged.
