The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7494 p330
22 March 2008

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Under a fifth of pharmacy staff members in Wales can speak Welsh

Whether community pharmacies in Wales provide the option for customers to communicate in Welsh with pharmacy staff varies greatly by location, a Pharmacy Practice Research Trust report reveals.

Researchers from the Welsh School of Pharmacy, Cardiff University, and the Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care at the University of Glamorgan, found that some 60 per cent of pharmacies in Wales do not offer Welsh-language pharmacy services.

The research showed wide variation between different locations, with some areas having no Welsh-language pharmacy provisions for a small percentage of Welsh speakers and others having nearly all pharmacies able to communicate in Welsh for their largely Welsh-speaking population.

Over three quarters of pharmacies in Wales responded to the study and less than a fifth of staff members in the country could speak Welsh. Lead researcher Louise Hughes of the Welsh School of Pharmacy said: “Ideally all Welsh speakers should have access to pharmacy services through the medium of Welsh, regardless of where they live. Although it may not be easy, or indeed practical, for all pharmacists working in Wales to be able to speak Welsh, consideration should be given to the needs of Welsh speakers.”