Majority of poll respondents said tougher legal enforcements should be made active as cases of abuse against pharmacists are on the rise.
A report from the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and ITV News revealed a rise in discriminatory behaviour toward frontline pharmacy staff, with 82% of pharmacies reporting instances of racist abuse over the past year.
To understand what the industry thinks, Pharmacy Business conducted a poll on LinkedIn.
When asked what action is most urgently required to safeguard staff, 43% of respondents chose tougher legal enforcement. Public awareness campaigns were highlighted by 26% of participants, while 22% cited dedicated NHS funding for security.
A further 9% pointed to capital grants for physical security upgrades, such as panic buttons and CCTV systems.
Despite over 60% of the pharmacy workforce hailing from non-white British backgrounds, pharmacy teams receive significantly less security support and funding from the NHS compared to other primary care sectors – even as frustration over medicine shortages and system delays triggers verbal and physical aggression.
Leaders across the sector are calling for urgent, system-wide action to safeguard community pharmacy teams.
The National Pharmacy Association Chair Olivier Picard said: “The NHS and Department of Health have always rightly said that we should have a zero tolerance approach towards abuse of NHS staff.
“But we now need this rhetoric to match actions. GP colleagues have been afforded funding to make security changes but this has never been offered to community pharmacies, despite 90 per cent of our work being carried out for the NHS.
“This must change so pharmacies can make the security changes they need to help protect their staff from this worrying uptick in abusive behaviour from patients.
“Anyone visiting a community pharmacy should always treat teams serving them with patience and tolerance.”
