Pharmacy teams face threats and abuse, survey finds

Of those that reported these criminal incidents to the police, 73 per cent believed they received an insufficient response.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), who represent over 6,000 independent pharmacies in the UK, have condemned the abuse of hard working pharmacy staff and urged the police to do more to deter shoplifters.

The survey of around 500 pharmacies by the NPA found that 9 in 10 (88 per cent) of pharmacies have seen a surge in incidents of shoplifting in the last year.

Pharmacies have warned that the potential theft of medicines, including controlled drugs, could have serious consequences for someone's health and may be being stolen for criminal gain.

Some medicines could be being mixed, making dangerous concoctions, and theft from pharmacies is potentially a more serious criminal offence than common shoplifting.

Some pharmacies have reported to the NPA that they have taken additional steps to protect their teams, such as the introduction of body worn cameras and the employment of security staff.

Some pharmacies have also reported that hostile behaviour from a minority of patients can be caused by frustrations due to national shortages of certain medications.

Pharmacy teams can often be more vulnerable to threatening or abusive behaviour than other parts of the NHS. Pharmacies are often more isolated and can bear the brunt of frustrations from patients who been let down by wider parts of the health system. 

Pharmacies are not required to supply NHS medicines to people committing or threatening to commit a criminal offence or who is accompanied by someone doing so.

The NPA have called on the NHS to provide a similar level of support that is offered to other parts of primary care, such as GP practices, to help protect pharmacies and their teams. 

In the past, the NHS has provided funding to GP surgeries to make changes to improve security, such as to fit panic alarms and install CCTV.

Around 90-95 per cent of an average pharmacy’s work is providing NHS services such as the dispensing of medication or running vaccination campaigns.

Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association said,, "These are appalling findings and show that pharmacies are seeing a significant increase in shoplifting and other criminal behaviour.

“It is particularly concerning to hear of reports of physical assaults as well as threats towards pharmacy staff, which is totally unacceptable.

"Due to their accessible nature, pharmacy teams can often be more exposed to abuse and threats than their primary care colleagues. 

“Although pharmacies are taking their own steps to protect their staff and premises, the police should do much more to tackle crimes like shoplifting which is becomingly increasingly common place.

“Theft of medication from a pharmacy, such as strong pain relief or benzodiazepines, could have serious consequence for someone’s health.

“We need to do more to tackle shoplifting as well as offering pharmacies similar support to other NHS colleagues in primary care to protect their staff and their premises.”