To think Pharmacies shouldn't shut for lunch anymore

Our local pharmacies seem to close for lunch between 1:30 and 2. I’m glad as they’re so often jam-packed with people picking up or dropping off prescriptions; wanting flu jabs, etc. The staff look run ragged sometimes. It’s a responsible job and they need 30 mins to regroup.

My local Pharmacist does! He owns his shop but needs time to eat without jumping upon and down constantly.

He needs peace for 30 mins. {all he takes}

It's not illegal to not take a break. You're entitled to a break if you work over 6 hours. It's not actually illegal for you not to stop working. What's not allowed is for your work to not allow you to take a break.

Are you telling me that pharmacists are hourly workers and not salaried?

Why are they not there?

Could they not have their lunch on the premises?

GP surgeries shut at lunchtime so that isn’t actually generally the busiest time for a pharmacy..
it’s illegal not to take a break if you work for more than 6 hours. Catering staff don’t work through from early morning to evening without a break! And there needs to be a minimum staffing in a pharmacy much more than other places because it’s a higher risk due to there being lots of drugs on the premises..

Sadly not total guesswork when they close near me, 9 pharmacies within a 15 minute drive of my house all close at the same time. I needed an antibiotic for DC and had meetings the rest of the day.

Our local Boots closes. The WHOLE shop for an hour at lunch. It's ridiculous. This is a busy student area with people wanting to buy meal deals and general toiletries. The pharmacy counter could be closed but not the entire store !

Bizarre. Ours just has a sign up explaining this. You can still go in for other things and it says what time the pharmacist will be back.

It's not possible to pick up your prescription if the pharmacist is not there as they have to check every one that goes out. They are entitled to a lunch break.

Where I am (NI) very few pharmacies closed for lunch before COVID, and it was almost unheard of to have double cover!! You ate your lunch out the back in the tea room and had counter staff bringing you scripts to check or you had to go out to speak to customers during your break, you also didn't get paid over your break.

During COVID pharmacies were encouraged to close over lunch to give themselves a proper break, although I think most are back open again.

Prior to the Responsible pharmacist legislation in 2008 if the pharmacist wasn't there the shop was shut -end of. Since 2008 the responsible pharmacist can be absent for a period of up to 2 hours and can leave the premises but nothing more than a GSL medication can be sold - that includes your 32 pack of paracetamol which are a Pharmacy only pack!

In terms of deliveries the pharmacist is still overseeing them, and it's no different to the pharmacist giving a prescription to a member of the counter staff to give out, they have done the necessary checks, delivered and relevant counselling, received authorisation to deliver the item, the driver will have strict operating procedures to follow. The driver couldn't take an item from the dispensary and deliver it without telling the pharmacist.

In terms of why don't they have second cover, besides the fact that locum cover is so hard to come by, pharmacies are all independent businesses with a Health Service contact to dispense health service prescriptions. It's often not financially viable to pay two pharmacists wages, most multiples will only have a second pharmacist if their dispensing numbers are over a certain threshold. It's not about trying to cut corners either, many drugs are so expensive, and the pharmacies aren't always reimbursed the price they pay, there are drug shortages (thanks Brexit) as UK products now need a separate license to the exact same EU product. It's just a really tough time for community pharmacy at the minute.

Catering staff often work all kinds of hours, from early breakfast to late dinner, they never take breaks during times their customers need them most. I'm not saying pharmacists shouldn't have a break, but they must realise lots of their customers need them most during the traditional lunch hours ie; 12-2pm. Why on earth they feel its appropriate to close for a whole hour during that time is bizarre. A cafe wouldn't close between 1 and 2pm so their staff could have a lunch hour (plus who's even lucky enough to get a whole hour for lunch nowadays!)

Why would someone have a break at a time they are likely to be busy because that's the time people require it most
For the pharmacies that do still close, it's often because they are sole traders. Meaning they are there all day, every day. It's not sustainable to never have a break.

Whereas pharmacists who are employed will be on a shift or will work p/t and maybe more able to do it as it's not every day

Still obviously fairly undesirable.

Yes to this! The catering industry in particular. Why would someone have a break at a time they are likely to be busy because that's the time people require it most? Lots of staff pop out during their lunch hour to eat/do tasks such as collect their prescription...

One of the reasons for the shortage of community pharmacists too is that so many are leaving to work in primary care

Not in Ireland - we don't have that model.

It's usually because of the long days; it's female-dominated; they want (and can afford to - salary scales are quite good in Ireland for pharmacists) to work part-time, and many choose locum work as it pays well - all contributing to too few pharmacists being available.

I don't agree that's the 'nature of her work' or at least it doesn't have to be

I'm sure. This is in Ireland and it is typical, as it is for most medics and many para-medical roles.

I'm in an entirely different area of work & I also often work through lunch.

It might not be ideal, but it's reasonably standard.

To be fair, an awful lot of people don’t get lunch at ‘lunch time’.

Absolutely this

Some larger pharmacies do such as Asda or Boots but the person won't get their meds without the actual pharmacist.
you forget that many are only small businesses with sometimes only 2-3 members of staff including the actual pharmacist.

Re the question about delivery being allowed when you can't hand out meds without a pharmacist. We hand the dispensed medication to the delivery driver with the Pharmacist there, same as we would hand out medication to the patient. Once it goes to the driver, it's no longer the Pharmacist responsibility, same as handing to the customer. It then becomes the driver/delivery companies responsibility to get the meds to the right place.

I don't agree that's the 'nature of her work' or at least it doesn't have to be. Decades of deliberate underfunding and mismanagement of healthcare in this country has resulted in a race to the bottom of employment conditions for healthcare workers and it's a disgrace. Your sister should be able to take a peacefu lunch break and rest. We want well-rested, calm pharmacists not stressed and overworked ones that then make mistakes and/or burn out young and leave the profession early.

One of the reasons for the shortage of community pharmacists too is that so many are leaving to work in primary care where the employment conditions are generally improved. A close relative did this and a number of his friends from uni have done the same.

It's an hour, yabvu I'm sure you can fit your day around it if it's that important. I'm on daily prescriptions and I manage just fine to get my meds without expecting the pharmacy not to eat or drink all day

More than likely.

My DSis, a pharmacist, will try to quickly eat half a sandwich or rely on one of the assistants to bring her something. She doesn't take a lunch break. Not great but the nature of her work.

Because there is only one pharmacist, and you'd be complaining if you were told to come back later because the pharmacist is on their lunch.

Is this still a thing then? I only know of one pharmacy in a ten mile radius to me that closes for lunch but none of the others do