A pharmacist and pharmacy owner in East Sussex has spoken about the impact on the team of a break-in, resulting in extra cost, disruption and concern, despite nothing being taken.
Dervis Gurol, owner and superintendent pharmacist at Healthy-U Pharmacy in Saltdean, who had recently appeared on national television to talk about violence and theft in community pharmacy, was alerted at 3am by his phone to damage to the front door of the pharmacy.
Although the team was relieved to find that no stock or medicines were stolen, the incident (21 October) has still left a mark he said, and has needed money to be spent on extra security measures.
“We've never actually had a break-in like this before, although we have had a few attempted break-ins in the past where the locks were forced,” he said. “This time, however, they went a step further and smashed the glass panel to gain entry.”
“Thankfully, nothing was taken, but that doesn't mean there hasn't been a cost to the business. We've had to deal with the aftermath of the break-in, arrange emergency repairs and make sure the pharmacy was secure again.
“It's been a traumatic experience for the staff, and incredibly frustrating having to stop what we should be doing, which is looking after our patients, to deal with something like this. We're still trying to catch up with everything.”
Security shutters will now be installed at both the company’s pharmacy branches and upgrades are being made to the CCTV system at the Saltdean branch where the incident happened.
He posted on LinkedIn that the team had to deal with “a smashed entrance, blood across the premises, a police investigation and the task of getting everything sorted so that we could open and serve our patients as normal”.
Security showed that the intruders were only in the pharmacy for less than three minutes before leaving with nothing. “Our patient information remains secure,” he posted.
Speaking to Pharmacy Business, Gurol, who received the Community Pharmacy Heroes Award in the Pharmacy Business Awards earlier this month, said he was frustrated at the impact that a relatively small break-in has had, as well as the wider impact of such problems for community pharmacy.
“We've invested a significant amount of money into our new branch, trying to create a modern pharmacy and improve the services we offer to our local community. Instead of being able to focus that investment on patient care and developing services, we're now having to spend even more.
“It's money that could have been spent on improving services, investing in our teams or supporting patients, but instead we're having to spend it on protecting our businesses.”
His post on LinkedIn about the break-in received a wide range of comments from others who had also had problems or who are concerned about the issue.
Among the comments, Richard Stevenson, of Right Medicine Pharmacy, said that stock had been returned to them after a recent break-in “in broad daylight” on a Sunday. Umeed Sanjesh of Pharmosphere warned that the impact of incidents can “stay with colleagues long afterwards”. Oliver Picard, of the National Pharmacy Association and Newdays Pharmacy, said that pharmacists had the role of “security guard” to include in their list of many roles.
Gurol said that the responses to the post demonstrated the "wider problem" that pharmacy teams are facing.
“The response to my LinkedIn post has been quite telling. So many other pharmacy contractors have shared their own experiences, and it really does highlight that this isn't an isolated issue. Whether it's break-ins, shoplifting, threats or abuse towards pharmacy staff, there is a much wider problem here,” he said.
He also commented on the irony of the break-in happening after he recently had spoken on the subject of violence and aggression on TV.
“What's particularly frustrating is that I was recently on the BBC, in my capacity as a Community Pharmacy England representative, talking about violence and aggression towards pharmacy teams and the challenges we face as a sector. And now, here we are, dealing with a break-in at one of my own pharmacies.
“I think we need to see these incidents taken more seriously. Community pharmacies are healthcare premises, not just retail shops. Our teams should be able to come to work without worrying about their safety, and contractors shouldn't have to keep finding additional money to protect their premises.
“We already have enough financial and operational pressures in community pharmacy without having to deal with the cost and disruption caused by criminal activity,” he added.
The abuse, threats, violence and criminal damage that pharmacy teams and owners have to deal with do not get sufficient attention, he argued.
How many more pharmacy teams are dealing with incidents like this, he asked on social media, saying that it was time for a “serious conversation” about the safety and security of community pharmacies and the people who work in them.
