The General Council of Official Colleges of Pharmacists (Cgcof) has launched the Observatory of Attacks on Pharmacists, due to the “worrying reality” of the increase in attacks in recent years.
According to the Cgcof, this type of violence, which It ranges from verbal and physical attacks to property damage.“affects those who work every day to take care of the health of the population.”
In fact, said the president of the Cgcof, Jesús Aguilar, “The pharmaceutical profession is not used to reporting attackswhether physical, verbal or against their assets”.
Therefore, he added, “We want to change this trend to not let them pass. An attack that is not reported is an act that does not exist and makes it easier for it to occur again, this is a problem that cuts across all healthcare facilities.”
Furthermore, he stressed that “the only way to know the magnitude and dimension of the problem is to have real data, for which the Colleges of Pharmacists and the General Council have created this observatory that will allow us to have greater certainty about this reality and make a analysis of information on attacks suffered by pharmacistspresenting periodic reports to the different national and regional administrations and State Security Forces and Bodies.”
Let the problem be known
Through the Observatory of Aggressions against Pharmacists – available on the collegiate and General Council websites – professionals will be able to record the aggression suffered in detail.
The platform includes fields for provide information about the time and place where the attack occurred; what type it is (physical, verbal or against assets); the characteristics of the aggressor; the actions taken (such as filing a complaint with the State Security Forces); and the consequences it has had for the pharmacist (physical, psychological or the need to proceed with the closure of the pharmacy, among others).
In this way, attacked pharmacists will be able to include information about whether, for example, the aggression has been verbal or physical for refusing to dispense a medication without a prescriptiondue to not having the medication in the pharmacy or due to a disagreement in the information received. Also if the violent act has led to theft, robbery or material damage, among other options.
Risk factors
The incidents collected on the platform will allow the Collegiate Pharmaceutical Organization to obtain an x-ray of the attacks on pharmacists at the provincial, regional and national level. A teamwork with which patterns, trends and risk factors can be identified.
This network structure will facilitate action at a local and global level, responding in an effective and coordinated manner to the protection needs and safety of pharmacists in each territory.
Another objective of the Observatory of Aggressions against Pharmacists is to raise awareness in society and institutions on the seriousness of attacks to pharmacists in particular, and to health professionals in general.
With the data collected, the Collegiate Pharmaceutical Organization will promote collaboration with health and safety authorities to implement prevention and protection measures, such as the development of action protocols in the event of aggression or risk factors to promote safety in the work environment. from pharmacies.
The launch of the new Observatory It is part of the Social Strategy of the Pharmaceutical Profession, launched in 2021.
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