The PDA has signed the Covid-19 Safety Pledge reinforcing the organisation’s commitment to maintaining a Covid-19 safe environment for staff, the public, and any users of their spaces and premises. The pledge was developed by Independent SAGE, the Hazards Centre, and a coalition of trade unions and it has a growing number of signatories.
Coronavirus has not gone away. It poses risks for everyone and the full extent of the impact of long-Covid-19 is still being discovered. The population will see future strains of the virus and there is no guarantee that they will be milder or that reinfections won’t cause serious ill health.
Covid-19 infection remains high but legal obligations (notably to self-isolate when testing positive for Covid-19) have been removed. It is critical that employers abide by best public health advice, that they urge and support workers to stay at home when infected, and that the public know that they will not encounter staff who are carrying the virus. This is especially important in a healthcare setting where patients may already be at high clinical risk.
It makes good public health sense to ensure that all places are properly ventilated and that no one is working while infected. However, it also makes sound economic sense to give the public confidence that they can use these spaces safely.
The PDA has previously highlighted some pharmacies allowing Covid-19-positive staff to work and has encouraged pharmacists to ask their employer to sign the pledge and to ensure those employers then meet those commitments.
The Covid-19 Safety Pledge
- We pledge to protect our workers, service users, and customers from Covid-19.
- We will assess our physical environment and working practices according to Health and Safety law, including Risk Assessments, in order to ensure that they are designed to safeguard against the spread of infection.
- We will abide by best public health advice and ensure that all workers who test positive for Covid-19 are both asked to self-isolate and given adequate support to stay at home.
Get involved
- Review the Covid-19 Safety Pledge website and then ask your employer to sign.
Learn more
- Pharmacists should be aware of the end of the pandemic stage of the Covid-19 virus
- PDA supports calls for complete transparency in Covid-19 Public Inquiry
- Scottish Health Secretary responds to parliamentary question about Well Pharmacy’s Covid-19 policy
- Independent Sage
- Supporting campaigns
Not yet a PDA member?
If you have not yet joined the PDA, we encourage you to join today and ask your colleagues to do the same.
Membership is FREE to pharmacy students, trainee pharmacists and for the first three months of being newly qualified.
Read about our key member benefits here.