Our expectations for the protection of all pharmacy staff

Including Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities in pharmacy

The COVID-19 pandemic presents various health challenges for a wide range of communities across the UK. However, evidence has emerged of a specific serious impact for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.

In response to the Public Health England (PHE) review and the published recommendations we are calling on all employers of pharmacy teams, including the NHS, to implement these recommendations urgently.

This does not displace the responsibilities of employers to also comply fully with their health and safety obligations and wider duty of care.

We expect all employers and organisations across primary and secondary care to undertake appropriate risk assessments for all pharmacy staff and where required implement mitigating actions to reduce risk to pharmacy staff from all vulnerable groups.

Everyone in the pharmacy team deserves to be protected - this can happen if the following actions are taken:

  1. Every member of the pharmacy team must receive an individual risk assessment
  2. Risk assessments must be culturally competent and include ethnicity in their vulnerable and at-risk group
  3. Where the risk assessment indicates that actions are required, these must be taken to protect the team member
  4. Staff must be made aware of the support, advice and counselling services available to them to underpin safety and wellbeing for all staff
  5. Employees must have access to supportive, confidential, sympathetic and constructive engagement and support from employers about concerns and risks around COVID-19.

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