Workforce wellbeing

All working environments must adopt a culture of belonging, so pharmacists feel recognised, valued, and are able to confidentially access support for their mental health and wellbeing if needed.

Employers, managers and pharmacy teams must actively promote the wellbeing of staff, engaging with staff and working together to tackle the causes of work-related wellbeing problems and to support staff who are experiencing mental health problems.

Career development and flexible working options should be discussed and enabled to help support pharmacists to manage and optimise their workload.

The skills required to help managers and individuals support personal and team mental health and wellbeing, including cultural considerations, must be embedded in undergraduate, foundation and post-registration training.

A protected break must be enabled both for the welfare of pharmacists and for patient safety.

A cultural change is needed so that pharmacists, NHS bodies, employers, Governments, regulators and the public recognise the essential importance of taking breaks for patient safety and workforce wellbeing.

Breaks can be introduced in a way that minimises the impact on patients and the public. Legislation already exists to enable pharmacist breaks, for example, Working Time Regulations, Responsible Pharmacist legislation and in some NHS terms of service contracts.

Pharmacists in all settings should be enabled to use these mechanisms to take rest breaks. If a decision is made that a pharmacy has to close to enable a break, closures should take place at a fixed time, advertised locally for public awareness, and making it clear what services are unavailable.

Governments and NHS bodies must enable funded protected learning time and the infrastructure to support it.

This must be available for all pharmacists to enable the continuum of professional development from foundation to consultant level.

Good practice and pilots have been welcomed across England, Scotland and Wales, but there must be a wider and more accessible offer made available nationally for all pharmacists.

All pharmacy services must have the right skill mix and enough staff to help optimise workloads effectively. This includes pharmacy technicians, pharmacy support workers and business/management/administrative roles.

Career pathways should be developed to make all roles more attractive and rewarding.

View our workforce policy.

All employers must offer, or signpost to, wellbeing support that is culturally sensitive and relevant.

A collaborative approach must be taken across the profession to address the stigma and fear around mental health and to support individuals seeking wellbeing support.

All employers should support and encourage the pharmacy workforce to access wellbeing services when needed and reduce the perception of stigma.

Governments and NHS bodies across England, Scotland and Wales should continue to enable pharmacy teams to access support via the national NHS wellbeing support services offers.