It has finally hit me.
I’m lying in my daily long bath, crying and can’t stop.
I cannot face the public today with their selfishness and abuse. I swear I might lose it with the first person that moans today. (I know I won’t though!)
I love my job. I always have.
It has never been this hard and all because 50% of the public are actually behaving terribly.
I’m heading to work at 7am every morning because I want to. I am trying to support community pharmacy teams who are exhausted, who have given everything, who are working like mad, who are barely speaking to their families and who are under unbelievable pressure.
And yet the abuse still comes.
I work for a company that have completely pulled out all the stops to support us. They are trying to give us staff, they are trying to ensure we take breaks, restricting the hours that we are open to the public, taking the professional hit with unpopular decisions and just generally trying to ease the pressure.
They can’t do any more.
But the public can.
My gentle appeal to the general public is to please stop being selfish. We are now playing the toilet roll game with medicines. Get what you need, when you need. Think of your neighbour.
Instead of standing outside my shop moaning about the wait, moaning about why we don’t have stock, wanting the prescription that you don’t actually need for another three weeks, right now.
Please also don’t have a social media rant about how shit pharmacy is. Don’t ring three times a day to see if your non-urgent script is here.
Please just don’t be that person.
Let us, who are truly frontline, prioritise the vulnerable, the elderly, the isolated. We know you are scared, we know you are panicking. Be assured we will help you. We are scared too but we can’t help you if you don’t help us.
We will get the backlog done, be understanding, be patient, be pleasant. And if you can’t, then take a look hard look at yourself because you should be ashamed.
Rant over.
The tears have stopped.
Please don’t feel sorry for me and my rant. Feel sorry for those who caused it. They need your sympathy. I’m away to work, I’ll see you in 12hrs.
The author of this article wishes to remain anonymous.
Abusive people should be named & shamed .
Certainly banned from Pharmacies and GP practices when they act unacceptably.
My heart goes out to Community Pharmacy teams at this time.
My colleague, I supporty you and your fellows. I understand and sympathize. If you need support please reach out. I believe that we have all had these emotions. This reaction to the distress of our profession is not uncommon. Keep calm and carry on be damned. Keep your faith in you. Take a deep breath. I’m not sure how you could contact me as I think if I include my email it will be deleted. However, better to beg forgivenss than ask permission.
If you need: danabnelsonrph@gmail.com.