The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has called on the government and NHS England to ensure that new rules making it mandatory for patients and visitors to wear face coverings at hospitals are “extended across primary care and other healthcare settings”.

“The Government must extend the measures announced so far to pharmacy settings and work with the profession on how this will be implemented as part of the new normal,” RPS president Sandra Gidley said earlier in the month (June 8).

Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp) is “of the view that pharmacy teams as healthcare professionals should be protected and so should all patients who visit the pharmacy”, chief executive Leyla Hannbeck told C+D yesterday (June 16).

The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) chief executive Malcolm Harrison said the organisation believes that it is “currently most appropriate for each individual business to make decisions on matters such as the use of use of face masks by patients and the public.”

“We are continuing to support our members through both the cross-sector community pharmacy patient safety group and the CCA’s professional practice group to understand how they can best support their teams and their patients during these difficult times,” he told C+D last week (June 17).