Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has set up a five-pronged programme to tackle patient violence and abuse in pharmacies.
In briefing papers for CPE’s April committee meeting, it said “a coordinated programme of work” on the issue “is now underway with LPC involvement”.
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It comes after survey findings published by the negotiator in March revealed that abusive behaviour is a “daily occurrence” for pharmacy workers.
It added that the new programme is “focused on five priority areas”: raising public awareness, pursuing regulatory and policy change, working with NHS England (NHSE) professional leadership, national engagement with policing, and supporting LPC local action and wellbeing support for pharmacy teams.
“A system-wide issue”
CPE said it is continuing to engage with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to improve “understanding of risks in pharmacies” and “try to secure more consistent responses to incidents”.
It is also working with NHSE to “position patient abuse as a system-wide issue” and “explore approaches to managing violent patients through integrated care boards”, it said.
And it said LPCs are receiving “practical engagement resources and wellbeing support” delivered in partnership with the charity Pharmacist Support.
“Right to be safe at work”
It follows pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock confirming in Parliament this week that NHSE had “met with CPE” to discuss its survey findings.
Conservative MP Dr Luke Evans asked on April 28 whether an assessment had been made of the survey’s “impact” on the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DH) policies, and whether the DH will publish a response to the survey.
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In his response, Kinnock said the DH and NHSE “condemn any form of abuse directed at healthcare workers”, adding that pharmacy staff “should be able to go to work without fear” and have “a fundamental right to be safe at work”.
“NHSE has met with CPE to discuss the findings of the survey and how we can further support community pharmacies and their staff,” he added.
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The DH confirmed to C+D that CPE met with NHSE on April 13 to discuss the survey findings, but said it had no further updates.
And CPE told C+D that it met with the chief pharmaceutical officer for England David Webb, who is “supporting a number of workstreams”, and has discussed the survey’s results with Kinnock as part of its “regular correspondence with him”.
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It comes after the government said it will introduce real-time medicine stock-checking at the point of prescribing for GPs, in the hope of reducing patient frustration and abuse in pharmacies.
Parliamentary under-secretary for Health and Social Care Dr Zubir Ahmed said the move “should be good for community pharmacists who too often are on the receiving end of that frustration”.
