PDA are urging all Members of Parliament to support the Private Members Bill proposed by Chris Bryant MP. The Assault on Emergency Workers (offences) Bill was published this week and will receive its second reading in the House of Commons on Friday 20th October. The PDA are also asking that parliament include pharmacists within the scope of the bill before making it law.
Claire Ward, Director of Public Affairs at the PDA, said “Our members are often at the front line in the NHS and the community when violence and assaults occur. Although they may be privately employed by pharmacy businesses, they are delivering medicines, NHS services and care to patients. They deal with people who come into the pharmacy, often unknown to them, who may be abusive and violent. As the custodians of controlled drugs and medicines, pharmacists are often placed in the difficult position of having to refuse patients who are highly drug dependent from accessing these supplies. That can and does lead to frustration and in too many cases violence.”
In August, Chemist and Druggist magazine’s investigation into crime in pharmacies revealed that the Police Service of Northern Ireland recorded 28 cases of “violence against a person” in 2016, including one that resulted in a “serious” injury caused by a blade or knife.
Earlier this year, an incident in James McDonagh Pharmacy in Belfast in which two pharmacists were stabbed, by a person who was trying to secure a supply of Tramadol, demonstrates the real risks faced by pharmacists in delivering NHS services.
The Bill currently proposes in clause 3(1)(h) protection for persons working within A & E and Urgent treatment centres. Clause 4(a) could cover pharmacists and other staff in a hospital or acute care setting. All of these, in addition to emergency service workers, are justly entitled to receive the protection this bill affords. However, registered pharmacists in similar front facing roles in the community are not covered by this legislation. They too should be protected by this Bill.
Claire Ward continued: “The evidence that we have collected as part of our Violence in Pharmacies campaign indicates the scale of the problem and the need for employers and the NHS to protect staff carrying out their job. We want to see a zero-tolerance approach to abuse and violence for pharmacists in the workplace.”
PDA are encouraging MPs across the political spectrum to raise this issue during the debate on Friday and seek assurances that Chris Bryant MP and the Government will support an amendment to the bill to include registered pharmacists in front line roles in the community when the bill reaches committee stage.
Editors requiring further information should contact:
Paul Day
Tel: 0121 694 7000,