Exclusive: The protracted challenges facing the sector and resulting workload spikes are contributing to a “trend of growing severity of mental health problems,” the chief executive of sector charity Pharmacist Support has said. 

In an interview with P3pharmacy, Danielle Hunt said that while stress and burnout within the pharmacist profession as a whole they are particularly severe within the community pharmacy sector, citing “shocking figures” from Pharmacist Support and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society showing that 96 per cent of community pharmacists are at high risk of burnout.

“People are facing increased demands on the job,” Ms Hunt told P3pharmacy, adding: “We think we’ve moved on from the pandemic, but for a lot of people the expectation to keep delivering more is something that’s just gone on and on.”

Describing the impact of rising workload and staffing shortages as “becoming long term,” Ms Hunt said of the people that seek the charity’s services: “You suddenly end up in this situation you never expected, and you need more support.  

“It might even be housing support because you’re at risk of losing your home. Things can start to become quite complex, quite quickly.”

She said Pharmacist Support is seeing a rise in pharmacists in need of financial assistance, with the charity seeing a 50 per cent rise in applications in 2023 compared to the previous year. 

Last year it gave out over £327,000 in financial assistance to pharmacists, almost a third of the charity’s total expenditure for the year.

Ms Hunt commented: “It’s been a really stark reminder of how important the charity is. It’s not just a bit of mental health support or some financial assistance; it is holistic support that is more important than ever.”

She said that helping employers to tackle cultural issues in the workplace could have a positive knock-on effect, commenting: “There is lots of evidence to say that even in these challenging environments, if a pharmacist feels heard and valued – and feels they can raise their issues – it all has a positive knock-on effect for wellbeing. If it’s the opposite, then it’s even more challenging.”