Does anyone work for Boots pharmacy ?

[theoneiam1]

How do you feel the company has responded to the Coronavirus pandemic?
Do you feel supported / safe?

My friend works for boots pharmacy she doesn’t feel supported or safe, she tried to hand her notice in last week but the manager persuaded her to stay for now at least, she told me that there’s no way they can keep 2 m apart from each other as their section is too small, the phone rings all day and no one answers it and new staff aren’t getting training because they are short staffed.

I genuinely believe I caught CV from the pharmacist in my local Boots. She looked and sounded dreadful … and so did I a few days later. Working on her own and clearly short staffed - Coronavirus or not she should not have been in work that day.

Queued outside Lloyd’s pharmacy today for about an hour. Queue didn’t move at all. Most people just wanted to collect their prescriptions. Tried calling 10 times but just said lines busy. They must be severely understaffed and not coping at all.

We are all massively under staffed! PPE only allowed to start being with this week.
No personal thanks to colleagues at all .
No cleaning products!
Where are all the bosses in this? Probably all at home in full pay whilst we all risk our lives and families lives on basically minimum wage!
Feeling cross and unappreciated and vulnerable 😢

My friend works for Boots. She's currently isolating on full pay as one of her DC is high risk..

I've actually felt really supported, self isolating on full pay as pregnant. Not allowed to be at work.

We are permanently short staffed so that doesn't make much difference, my colleagues are doing ok so far but it's very difficult in these unprecedented times.

A few of my colleagues have high risk people living in their family - should they not be at work?
I'm glad you are both home safe and still being paid to avoid unnecessary stress x

My DH works in the receiving part of Boots and he is concerned there is no PPE there and also due to the layouts etc distancing is nye on impossible. Trucks and scanners are not wiped down at all and goods are still being processed from China and India. He is becoming quite concerned but at least they only are running a skeleton crew now so it's a bit easier. He is worried though that they will ask them to take their holidays now that the leave year has started instead of furloughing. We are waiting to see what happens in the next few days...

The staff at my local boots were wearing gloves but they didn't change them after every person so they are probably spreading it.

Wearing gloves is only affective if done properly. Wearing the same pair of gloves to take a prescription slip from one person and then handing out a prescription to another person wearing the same pair of gloves is not helping to stop the spread.

Have been really disappointed by Boots. The crisis has been an eye opener. They are throughout Britain and in normal times hold themselves out to be the nation’s pharmacy. This crisis seems to have shown everything just gets imported in from China and India, and sold for nice margins. Nothing relevant has been in stock in stores or websites now needed, even though the whole nation is being told to treat themselves at home if they get this dangerous virus, and being told they are likely to get it.

They won't have anywhere near the amount of gloves needed to do that!

In fact wearing gloves will probably exacerbate the spread in this case as they will wash their hands less due to 1. Feeling safe and clean themselves and 2. Not wanting to bin a pair of gloves when their short of ppe.

Doubt they have enough hand sanitizer to adequately sanitize the gloves whilst wearing. If hospitals are putting out appeals for it, then no one has enough.

*they're short

This is a real shame to read, I was at Boots during swine flu, and they were amazingly supportive (although of course thankfully it didn't esculate as predicted).

Ive been trying to see if they will deliver DHs prescription. Been calling trying to get through to them on the phone for nearly a week. DH got through to them just now. Been told to just line up outside the door and wait. Two in at a time. Can understand the restrictions on people in store at any one time. But are also closing at certain points in the day for deep cleaning. How are patients picking up prescriptions supposed to know when these closures are?

As far as can tell they will only home deliver if the prescription is ordered online.

I knew i would find a Boots thread if i ASed Boots and Coronavirus on here.

DH is 70. What about much older people over 80 who need to pick up prescriptions? They arent suddenly going to start buying smartphones and ordering online. people on their own who havent got anyone? Not just elderly but disabled/ill people too.

I saw a newspaper story about two footballers who are volunteering and delivering prescriptions for Boots Lovely and kind of them but Boots make enough bloody money so surely they could sort something out.

How on earth can people self isolate in this country when structures dont support that.

The staff in our local boots have gloves and some wear masks too. They're not all wearing masks though so I don't know if those are provided by the company or the ones with them have bought their own. They're also operating a one in, one out customer policy. I think the gloves are to protect the employees getting the virus themselves more than for protecting spread between customers? When I've had to go out I make sure to use hand sanitizer after paying for something and wash my hands as soon as I get home.

Reading the other posts on this thread those at the very top of Boots need to get their priorities right.

I feel safe working in Boots. We have gloves (which can be changed regularly), lots of antibac soap and sanitizer, no restrictons on use and can leave shop floor if we want to wash our arms/hands. There's disinfectant wipes for self serve, lots of staff still in though but used some to totally clean and disinfectant the place. There are plastic screens for tills and they've taken a deliver of plastic vizors for those that want them. We've been told to ask customers to move away if they're too close, if they don't do it sufficiently we can refuse to serve and walk away. We're open for pharmacy, healthcare and baby and a few hair care and skin care items moved to those areas, but still got people coming in for a general shop and asking for premium hair care, hair dyes and makeup.