The wearing of face masks in shops and retail environments has been part of government guidance in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for some time, however, this is often difficult to enforce, and can be a trigger for violence or abuse to be directed at staff when they try to do so.
The PDA encourages all pharmacy contractors to increase patient and customer awareness of the requirement without placing employees at unnecessary risk.
Earlier this week, the PDA urgently called for zero-tolerance of violence in community pharmacy following member reports of an increase in violent behaviour in pharmacies. The PDA has once again called on all pharmacy employers to publicly stand up against violence by clearly highlighting their zero-tolerance stance and enforcing that policy against any patient or customer who behaves violently in any way.
The PDA hopes that the recent move by supermarkets encourages more businesses to require people who can wear appropriate face coverings to do so when they are picking up essential items, including from community pharmacies. This will hopefully improve Covid safety for everyone who visits ‘the high street’.
Read more
- PDA recently highlighted concerns about the removal of security guards from some pharmacies
- PDA Violence in Pharmacy campaign