Responding to a report by Community Pharmacy England into rising levels of abuse directed towards pharmacy team, Henry Gregg, Chief Executive of the National Pharmacy Association said:
"Abuse, threats and assaults of pharmacy staff is absolutely unacceptable but unfortunately, we have seen an alarming rise in this in recent months and years.
"In particular, we have heard of a rise in racist abuse directed towards pharmacy teams.
"When pharmacies report these issues to both the police and wider NHS, all too often the response is inadequate.
"Due to their accessible position on the high street, pharmacy teams can often be more exposed to abuse and threats than their colleagues in other healthcare settings.
"We need the NHS to offer pharmacies similar support given to other colleagues in primary care, to protect their staff and their premises.”
