While pharmacies across the UK are facing a funding drought and margin squeeze, they often have to contend with the rising incidents of shoplifting.
In a recent viral video, two men were seen barging into a pharmacy in Ilford, London, and decamping with a bagful of items.
The footage showed that the duo acted with total impunity and appeared sure that no action would be taken against them.
Shaheen Bhatia, who runs the PS Chemist where the incident took place, said the incident took place in June and the intruders had been scouting for her pharmacy, which has an all-women staff, for some time.
They chose to enter when there were no other customers in the shop that could have helped them.
“And they knew exactly what high-end products to take. They took away some over-the-counter products, including some high-end vitamin tablets and skincare products, worth around £900."
What really shocked Shaheen was their attitude. “They're totally fearless. In fact, in the video you could probably hear me in the background that I was actually calling the police. But they appeared least perturbed.”
The veteran independent pharmacist, who began her career in 1986, also blamed the attitude of the police for such a sorry state of affairs.
“What the police were saying to me is, if they're not injuring anyone, then it's okay.”
When she called the police, she was told they won’t be able to come on that day and sought a week or a fortnight’s time to look into the case. If my staff hadn't videographed the whole event, and my children, who are social media savvy, not made the video viral, it may have been ignored, she said.
But when the video became viral, the police and the local MP began contacting Shaheen. I said, “What do we pay our taxes for if the police can’t help us?”
She said her numerous visits to the police station to give statements and other proofs of goods stolen was of little help.I spent at least four to five hours just talking to the police, she said.
The two intruders have been caught, but in connection with a different case.
“I am an independent pharmacist and our profit margins are really narrow. There is no way that we can actually afford to lose like this.”
After this incident, Shaheen got in touch with nearby retailers, and they decided to adopt a quick communication strategy to alert neighbouring shopkeepers if any of them were in danger. She felt this was a more prudent strategy than approaching the police.
Shaheen was not sure they were armed, “We don't know if they had hidden knives or whatever.”
“To be honest, even if I had 1000s of pounds of stuff stolen, none of it is worth as much as my staff,” she said.
She cited an example of a pharmacist in her neighborhood who tried to chase the intruders and got seriously injured after a fall. Another shocker she came across was when she tried to claim insurance.
The insurers declined to compensate because there was no ‘forced entry’.“Of course, they walked in as we are open for all,” she said.
Shaheen said pharmacies should go for insurance policies that cover theft at all levels. She said that some pharmacy owners, especially those run by women, are now locking the doors and only allowing people they recognise, and allow only one or two people to enter the pharmacy at a time.
Shaheen recalled that during the Covid pandemic, the pharmacies had kept their doors open. “Look at what we're being forced to do now. Unfortunately, it's the good people who would suffer. They can't readily walk into a pharmacy.”
She said if the government does not start supporting us, independent pharmacies would undergo a decline.In another incident, NPA chair and founder of Newdays Pharmacy, Olivier Picard, had faced shoplifting at his pharmacy in Reading.
In a LinkdeIn post, he had stated that he managed to outrun the culprit, but he turned around and threatened Olivier for challenging him, “despite the fact that he was the one stealing from me.”
Picard approached the police, but their action left a lot to be desired.“The police gave me a crime number, but later emailed to say they wouldn’t be attending and would instead send a crime prevention officer in the coming days. While I’m grateful for the response, I couldn’t help but feel something was missing. After all, my staff and patients deserve to feel safe.
"Pharmacies are pillars of the community. We shouldn’t have to face threats and theft without support. I hope sharing this experience sparks a conversation about what more can be done to protect frontline healthcare workers in community settings.”
He remarked that pharmacists cannot accept theft as 'part of the job’ or that it is an "acceptable behaviour!"
A recent survey by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has found that around 9 in 10 pharmacies have seen a surge in incidents of shoplifting in the last year.
The survey found that 87 per cent had seen an increase in aggressive and intimidating behaviour towards pharmacy teams, while 22 per cent had even seen physical assaults on staff.
Pharmacies have warned that the potential theft of medicines, including controlled drugs, could have serious consequences for someone's health and may be being stolen for criminal gain.
Some medicines could be mixed, making dangerous concoctions, and theft from pharmacies is potentially a more serious criminal offence than common shoplifting.
With not many shoplifters being brought to book, many pharmacies are installing CCTV, deploying private security guards, employing body cameras for staff, and installing panic buttons and security shutters.
Some have now locked up more expensive items, such as perfumes and costly medicines, behind the counters.
