How have your employers assessed and supported your safety in the workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Dear <<First Name>>, 

Recently, both the GPhC and the NHS have issued instructions to employers of healthcare staff, including those in community pharmacy, to ensure that risk assessments are undertaken so as to be able to manage the risks of COVID-19 in the workplace. Employers have been urged also to pay particular attention to those members of staff from BAME backgrounds as it has been shown that they are at increased risk of COVID-19-related harm.

PDA members will be aware that recently, the PDA produced a risk assessment tool to support safety in the workplace for all members of staff.

We are concerned, not only whether the employers have followed these instructions and assessed your safety in the workplace, but also to solicit your views and opinions on this important area. A risk assessment should be the start of the process, not the end, and we also want to understand your experience of how risks have been managed such as through the provision of PPE.

We initially asked members of our BAME Network to help us by completing this survey as over 40% of pharmacists are part of the BAME community. Now we are reaching out to our wider membership in order to determine the full picture across the sector.

The estimated completion time for this survey is 6 minutes. All answers will be treated in the strictest confidence. Anonymised responses may be shared with our BAME network and may be used in PDA communications relating to this topic.

Thank you for your time.