Community pharmacy teams should be afforded the same protection against violence as other members of the NHS workforce, pharmacy bodies have said.

Yesterday, health secretary Wes Streeting announced a package of support for NHS staff on Agenda for Change (AfC) contracts.

This included measures to encourage staff to report incidents of violence or aggression towards them, and to ensure this information is collected at national level.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said this data would be analysed to better understand if certain staff groups - whether by race, gender, disability status, or role - face disproportionate risks, 'allowing trusts to protect the most vulnerable workers'.

Health secretary Wes Streeting said: 'No one should go to work fearing violence. Yet one in every seven people employed by the NHS have suffered violence at the hands of patients, their relatives, or other members of the public.

'Protecting staff from violence is not an optional extra. Zero tolerance for violence and harassment of NHS staff. It’s a commitment to make sure healthcare workers can focus on saving lives without fear for their own safety.'

Mr Streeting's comments related to Agenda for Change non-pay measures announced at the Unison trade union conference yesterday.

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But pharmacy bodies have called for similar support to be extended to members of community pharmacy teams.

In a recent survey, more than three quarters (77%) of pharmacy team members said their work was negatively impacting their mental health and wellbeing, and one in three said they were either 'barely coping' or 'not coping at all'. Of these 56% mentioned abuse from patients as a contributing factor.

And during the 2024 UK riots, The Pharmacist heard that pharmacy team members felt 'vulnerable and scared at work', while one in three pharmacies considered closing.

Last month, two men were jailed for armed robbery of two different pharmacies at knifepoint.

Violence against pharmacists is growing as NHS pressures increase

Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the Company Chemists' Association, said that violence against pharmacists was growing as pressures on the NHS increase.

While most patients were 'highly appreciative of the hard work of pharmacy teams', Mr Harrison said that 'on occasion pharmacy staff experience violence and abuse just for doing their jobs'.

'No healthcare professional should have to deal with this and pharmacy staff should be better protected,' he said.

'There are countless examples of pharmacists experiencing violence at work and as pressures on the NHS grow this is increasing. Pharmacies are an invaluable member of the NHS family and should have access to the same security funds that other important areas of primary care like GPs do,' he added.

In 2021, the government gave GPs access to a £5m security fund as part of a campaign to tackle patient abuse. This could be used to fund security enhancements such as panic buttons or CCTV.

After the pandemic, the CCA announced its pharmacies would take a number of safety precautions, such as employing body cameras and panic buttons, plus additional CCTV and signage to deter abusive behaviour and hiring additional security staff.

Support should be available to all staff providing NHS services

Alison Jones, director of policy and communications at the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA), welcomed the government's commitment to tackle violence and aggression in the workplace.

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'However, this support needs to be available to all staff providing NHS services, including for those working in community pharmacy,' she said.

'The PDA has been concerned about the levels of violence and abuse that pharmacists face at the frontline of NHS care for many years.'

'It is unacceptable that pharmacists still feel physically unsafe at least some of the time at work, no one should accept being abused, threatened, or assaulted as part of their job,' she added.

And she called on the government to 'broaden its support to include community pharmacists facing violence or abuse at work'.

The PDA also issued a call to community pharmacy employers 'to make clear statements to employees, to patients and to customers, about the consequences of any act of violence on their premises'.

Community pharmacy deserves parity with other parts of the NHS

Professor Claire Anderson, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), also noted: 'Community pharmacy teams are a vital part of the NHS and deserve parity and the same level of protection, support and recognition as their colleagues across the health service. Everyone has the right to feel safe at work.

'Pharmacy staff regularly face unacceptable levels of abuse and violence while simply doing their jobs – dispensing vital medicines, providing clinical advice and supporting patients on the front line. Our recent workforce wellbeing survey found 42% of respondents had experienced verbal abuse in the workplace in the past 6 months.

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'There must be zero tolerance for any abuse, intimidation, or violence towards pharmacy staff, and any incidents should be reported to help build a picture of what’s happening. The NHS, employers, and pharmacy owners must all work to support the safety of pharmacy teams.'

Pharmacy staff covered by Assaults on Emergency Workers Act

In response to these calls, DHSC stressed that violence of any kind is unacceptable, and NHS and healthcare staff should be able to carry out their work without fear of assault.

It confirmed that community pharmacy staff are considered emergency workers under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 which provides for increased sentencing powers.

And it confirmed that it took a zero-tolerance approach to this type of behaviour and would work closely with partners across the health system to drive positive cultural change.

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