Community Pharmacy England CEO Janet Morrison has expressed concern over the abuse and aggression faced by pharmacy teams amid the ongoing medicine supply issues.
She was reacting to the BBC Morning Live report on the abuse faced by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
The pharmacy staff that BBC spoke to claimed they feel very vulnerable and intimidated by abuses that happen "almost on a daily basis".
During the programme, Dervis Gurol, a pharmacy owner and an Independent Representative Committee member of CPE, shared first-hand experiences of verbal and physical threats towards him and his pharmacy team, including items being brandished and thrown at staff.
He claimed the levels of abuse have increased and the abusers often attack the race of the staff, religion and homophobia.
Gurol said these attacks leave a long-lasting physical and mental impact, forcing the staff to go on long sick leaves or even quit the profession.
BBC also interviewed Amandeep Kaur Doll, Director for England, Royal College of Pharmacy.
She told the channel that the frustrations mustn’t escalate to abuse and aggression on the staff.
To help alleviate the pressure, she said the Royal College was calling on the Government to allow pharmacists to make appropriate substitutions when medicines are not available.
This also makes life easy for patients as they need not keep visiting the general practitioners to make changes in the prescriptions, she added.
In response to this report, Morrison said: “We are still hearing from pharmacy owners who tell us that abuse and aggression from the public remain a daily challenge for their teams. This is totally unacceptable. Like everyone who works in the NHS, pharmacy teams should never face abuse, racism, discrimination, threats or violence simply for doing their jobs.
"Medicine supply problems can be a trigger for aggression and we absolutely understand the frustration and anxiety they can cause for patients. Pharmacy teams are working flat out to resolve issues that are well beyond their control to ensure that everyone can receive the medicines they need, when they need them.
"We want to see steps taken to further strengthen the resilience of the medicines supply chain, as well as stronger protective measures in place to ensure that pharmacies remain safe places for everyone who works in them.”
