Some 93% of pharmacies who reported criminal incidents to the police in the last year said the police’s response was “insufficient”, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has revealed.
According to an NPA survey of around 400 pharmacies, published today, 30% did not report incidents to the police because of “concerns about response time”.
“Not prioritised”
Almost 90% of survey respondents said they had experienced shoplifting in the last year, while 11% had seen burglaries “attempting to access prescription medicines”.
Respondents also told the NPA that shoplifting was “not prioritised” by the police, with some given crime reference numbers for “low-value items” stolen, and one being told the police would get in touch “within two weeks”.
Read more: ‘He threatened to kill me’: NPA chair confronts shoplifter
They said police “are not interested in low-value persistent shoplifting” and they “do not get a credible response or help against prolific thefts”.
Pharmacies also reported that spending “significant sums” on security staff, panic alarms and entry and exit schemes prevented them from “investing in new services for patients”.
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One said pharmacy funding prevented them from investing “in further security measures despite a spate of shoplifting and attempted burglaries”, while another said they had to employ a security guard costing them £60,000 a year to deal with shoplifting.
The NPA said pharmacies carry stock that “leaves them at higher risk” of having items stolen, and being the “front door to the NHS” can make pharmacies “more vulnerable to being victims of crime”.
NPA chair Olivier Picard stressed that pharmacies are “not like ordinary shops on the high street” because they stock prescription medication.
“Theft of medication from a pharmacy, such as strong pain relief or benzodiazepines, could have serious consequence for someone’s health,” he said.
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He added that the survey results are “worrying” and show “a lack of support for pharmacies when they report what can be long running, costly and serious crimes to the police”.
“Police work incredibly hard, often putting themselves in danger in the course of their duties, but we are concerned that they do not have the resources to adequately tackle high street crimes such as these,” he added.
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The NPA urged the NHS to provide security funding for pharmacies similar to that offered to GPs, for whom a £5m fund to “facilitate essential upgrades” to security measures was established in 2021.
It also called for police to be given support to “prioritise pharmacy-related crimes”, and told C+D it had raised the issue with the National Police Chiefs Council.
Abuse
The survey also revealed that 21% had reported criminal damage in the last year and 35% had seen staff members assaulted, with 3% witnessing sexual assaults on staff.
Some 78% of respondents had seen staff harassed, while 98% said they had seen “instances of criminal behaviour increase” since they started their pharmacy careers.
A survey respondent said their staff “constantly” deals with abuse from patients, adding that pharmacies “bear the brunt” of people’s frustrations because they are “the most accessible profession” in healthcare.
Read more: ‘Strangulation, pushing, punching’ - damning CPE survey on abuse
Picard said more must be done to tackle this and protect the pharmacy workforce from “absolutely disgusting” reports of racist abuse, assaults and sexual assaults.
“This includes a stronger police response and pharmacies being offered the same support as other parts of the NHS to make security arrangements,” he added.
Read more: National pharmacy campaign to focus on ‘respect’ for the sector
It comes as Community Pharmacy England (CPE) announced a new national pharmacy campaign focusing on “respect” for the sector, after the negotiator found that pharmacies experience abusive behaviour as a “daily occurrence”.
And it follows CPE announcing in April that it had set up a five-pronged programme to tackle patient violence and abuse in pharmacies.
