London pharmacists demand co-ordinated action after knife attacks on pharmacy staff
Pharmacists in north-east London are demanding that action is taken to co-ordinate an appropriate response following knife attacks on pharmacy staff.
Hemant Patel, secretary to North-East London Local Pharmaceutical Committee,
has written to Neil Gerrard, Labour MP for Walthamstow, seeking a meeting
with him and representatives of local pharmacists, the police and primary
care trusts.
Mr Patel says this meeting is urgently needed “so that the matter
can be dealt with speedily and with the seriousness it deserves before
someone gets seriously injured or killed”.
The letter comes in the wake of a series of attacks on pharmacy staff
in Redbridge, Barking, Dagenham, Havering and Newham. Two men are said
to be involved, one of whom has brandished a long knife and
demanded cash.
Mr Patel says that pharmacists are concerned about slow response times
from police. Pharmacies are seen as soft targets by criminals because
of long opening hours, easy access to desirable goods, money and drugs
and increasing numbers of female staff, he adds.
All seven community pharmacy forums in north-east London are scheduled
to discuss the matter at their next meetings. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal