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Respondents to a Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) survey have highlighted how the pressure of managing medicines shortages has directly impacted their mental health and wellbeing over the past year.
The sixth annual ‘RPS Workforce Wellbeing Survey‘, published on 18 February 2025, found that 56% of respondents said their mental health had been adversely affected by having to deal with medicines shortages over the past year.
The survey, run in partnership with Pharmacist Support in collaboration with the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK), was completed by 6,598 pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, which is five times more respondents than the year before.
Just under half of respondents (49%) reported that they had suffered verbal abuse from patients resulting from medicines shortages over the past 12 months, with 41% of respondents noting that their patients have been put at risk by shortages.
On the back of the results, the RPS has urged the government and NHS to unite on a national strategy to tackle the issues of shortages and struggling supply chains, echoing recommendations made in its 2024 report — ‘Medicines shortages: solutions for empty shelves‘.
Respondents to the workforce survey identified several additional factors that had a negative impact on their mental health and wellbeing, including: inadequate staffing (70%); lack of work-life balance (49%); increased financial pressures (47%); lack of protected learning time (47%); lack of colleague or senior support (47%) and long working hours (34%).
The responses also revealed some important differences between pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
For example, 43% of pharmacy technicians reported enjoying their work, which was a sentiment shared by 34% of pharmacists. Meanwhile, 47% of pharmacy technicians said they were able to take breaks offered to them, compared with 35% of pharmacists.
A total of 19% of pharmacists said they believed their mental health and wellbeing was not considered in their workplace, with 15% of pharmacy technicians agreeing.
Claire Anderson, president of the RPS, said: “Medicines shortages are not just a supply chain issue; they are a human issue, with real impacts on pharmacy teams working tirelessly to support the patients who rely on them. Finding solutions are essential not only for the wellbeing of the workforce but for ensuring safe and effective patient care.
“The results demonstrate the human cost of coping with relentless workplace pressures. We need collaborative efforts from governments, employers and the NHS to tackle the pressures on frontline pharmacy teams and create more supportive work environments.”
Commenting on the findings, Ade Williams, superintendent pharmacist at Bedminster Pharmacy, Bristol, told The Pharmaceutical Journal: “These statistics show how morally injuring it is for community pharmacy teams to face relentless public frustration and despair — even violent threats in some cases — all due to ongoing demands and pressures of managing medicines shortages.
“Knowing what you can do to help but isn’t allowed, such as amending the medication form or providing available suitable alternatives, plus the effort and time consumed in the fruitless endeavour, makes the situation even worse.”
In January 2024, the RPS gave evidence to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pharmacy inquiry into medicines shortages on the risks that they posed to patients.
The RPS, Pharmacist Support and APTUK will hold a roundtable in March 2024 to discuss the survey findings, which will be attended by the NHS, professional bodies, employers, trade unions and regulators.
During a cross-sector workforce wellbeing roundtable hosted by the RPS in 2024, the General Pharmaceutical Council said it would consider ways to support workforce wellbeing surveys for registrants.
