The Outbreaks of Unrest

The outbreaks of violence and disorder we have witnessed on our streets over the last week have been nothing short of appalling.

The ICB has condemned this in the strongest terms and we continue to urge everyone in our community to “come together and reaffirm our shared commitment to peace, inclusivity, and mutual respect”.

We are aware of unsubstantiated rumours circulating on social media that other protests are being planned in our region in the coming days and understandably, you may be thinking about what actions you may need to take at your pharmacy in the event there is further escalation.

However, whilst it is sensible to be prepared, we would strongly encourage you not to take these social media posts at face value. It is worth keeping an eye on credible accounts, such as Humberside Police. So far all of the media rumours have been just rumours, that may change but please consider the evidence of your own eyes over social media rumblings.

If your pharmacy is in an area which is being affected by protests, follow any guidance being provided by the police or local government to protect yourself, staff, patients and premises. There will be ongoing Comms from the ICS based around you all assessing your individual businesses risk and acting based on those findings. The ICS/NHS won’t tell you to close, that has to be your choice but if you follow proper procedure, you won’t be punished for it.

We also wanted to reassure you that the ICB is in regular contact with Humberside Police through our Local Resilience Forum and should we receive any credible intelligence that suggests there will be further protests / civil unrest, we will share this information with you to enable you to take any action you consider appropriate.

It is important you have up-to-date business continuity arrangements in place and your procedure for going into lockdown is well understood by your teams. We would encourage you to carry out frequent dynamic risk assessments as part of preparations for taking action to protect your staff, patients, customers and premises, should the need arise.

Please continue to liaise with your ICB Primary Care contact where you can (we appreciate there may be scenarios where this is ‘after the event’ if there is an imminent threat). If you do intend to deliver services differently as a result of an impending risk of street protests, please let the Primary Care Team know via hnyicb-ny.pharmacycontracts@nhs.net

Please also copy in our Emergency Preparedness Resilience and Response (EPRR) team at the ICB via hnyicb.eprr@nhs.net to advise them of the threat and the action you are taking.

If you feel there is a serious and credible threat to your staff, patients or premise, please call 999.

Stop Hate UK supports individuals and communities who have been impacted by hate crime. Any incidents of hate crime can be reported here: Report all Hate Crime – Stop Hate UK.

You may also want to report any hate crime to police including instances where you may witness patients abusing other patients. Humberside Police details are here.

Any incidents can also be recorded via appropriate incident management systems

There are a number of actions below which detail what your pharmacy should review and consider putting in practice.

 

Safety Advice during current period of civil unrest

• Stay safe
• If made aware in advance of local disturbances, consider staff working from home if that is an option or remaining at the pharmacy if it is unsafe to leave. Travel in pairs if necessary.
• If public transport cannot be accessed or bus stops/train stations are unsafe, support colleagues to get to the nearest safe address with a colleague or friend.
• Consider allowing staff to keep mobile phones on and accessible at work to allow family & friends to stay in touch if riots are reported.
• Nominate a member of staff to log onto local social media groups to track any local disturbances or police alerts. The police, local authority or other statutory body should be viewed as the only ‘trusted’ sources of information.
• If trouble starts close to the pharmacy, take immediate action. Lock doors, close shutters, and leave the premises if it is safe to do so. Have a planned exit route from the premises that ideally is away from main thoroughfares.
• If you are unable to leave the premises, move all staff and patients/ customers of the public to the furthest point away from the disturbance, ideally onto an upper floor and away from windows. Lock all internal rooms not being used including those that secure off parts of the building. Ensure any drugs and prescriptions are secure in a locked room.
• Seek police help, call 999 and do not leave until advised to do so.

Tell patients / customers

• Have information for patients and customers ready to go – put a notice on the pharmacy door, on your website and on your phonelines explaining that you have had to close due to violence.
• Tell them how to contact the xx (phone/online), and signpost to other sources of help e.g. 111, UTCs, A&E, for immediate health needs.
• Consider using your text messaging system to keep patients updated if you can access it – have a template ready to go if required.

 

Some useful Links/resources:

If you have to temporarily close, if that is advised by police or as an immediate response to risks. In those circumstances, let the primary care team at your Integrated Care Board (ICB) know about this in the usual way please contact: hnyicb-ny.pharmacycontracts@nhs.net (this email replaces england.pharmacyreturns@nhs.net).

CPE guidance on managing a temporary pharmacy closure

You may also need to implement parts of your business continuity plan.

CPE guidance on Business Continuity Planning

The NHS may be offering local guidance, this will be via email so check your inboxes regularly. It will be posted on the LPC website subsequently.

Previous police service advice for pharmacies

NPA has an excellent resource for those who can access it on ‘Coping with civil unrest or other local emergencies (August 2024)’

PDA members who are concerned about their safety to engage with their managers or employers, or the PDA Member support Centre if they needed further advice.

Feeding back about the local situation

Please let us know about issues related to protests in your locality and how that is affecting your ability to provide services to your patients, we can share this intelligence with local NHS partners, the LRF and others. Please work with us to monitor the situation across the Humber.

Let your PCN lead know what’s going on and us at humber.lpc@nhs.net