Associate feature: Supporting pharmacy heroes

Pharmacy teams have been doing some amazing work to support people this year and RPS has been highlighting examples using #pharmacyheroes. But alongside this work, we have also been working to make sure that pharmacy teams have access to mental health and wellbeing support when they need it, because even heroes are at risk from workload pressures, stress and anxiety.

Our annual survey of pharmacists’ mental health and wellbeing, published this week, showed that 72% of respondents said work had negatively affected their mental health and wellbeing and that 89% reported they were at high risk of burnout.

 In response to the survey, RPS will be advocating for governments and employers to make sure they create the right working conditions for good mental health in pharmacy. We will also be lobbying for pharmacy teams to be able to access the support they need when they need it and making sure that teams know where they can get support. And finally, but equally as important, we will be directly providing support to members, through our website and by organising events and opportunities for members to connect and support each other.

Follow our #Pharmacywellbeing campaign to find out more.

I also want to highlight the RPS Manifesto for the 2021 elections. I joined RPS in September this year, having spent the last year leading the national Near Me programme for the Scottish Government. As an advocate for accessible healthcare, I am delighted that the RPS Manifesto includes asks to improve patient care. For example, it calls on political parties to ensure IT systems across the NHS are interoperable and to ensure pharmacists in all care settings can access patient records. It also calls for a greater role for pharmacists in addressing health inequalities.

You can find out more on our website at www.rpharms.com/scotland.

Clare Morrison, Director for Scotland from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Scotland

This article was sponsored by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Scotland