RPS launches latest workforce wellbeing survey

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has invited pharmacists and pharmacy students to take part in its 2022 ‘Workforce Wellbeing’ survey, the results of which will be used to campaign for improvements to support the mental health and wellbeing of pharmacists.

The annual survey, in collaboration with the charity Pharmacist Support, is aimed to help the RPS advocate for improved conditions for pharmacy teams.

In May 2022, Ravi Sharma, director for England at the RPS, shared some results of the 2021 survey at a House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee evidence session, with the evidence he provided feeding into the committee’s ‘Workforce: recruitment, training and retention in health and social care’ report, published on 25 July 2022.

In a statement accompanying the launch of the 2022 survey, the RPS said: “Our 2021 survey found that 89% of the pharmacy workforce were at high risk of burnout and 32% of respondents had considered leaving the pharmacy profession.

“We’ll take the results of the survey to governments across Great Britain, the NHS, and wider stakeholders to advocate for improvements to better support the mental health and wellbeing of pharmacists.”

Claire Anderson, president of the RPS, said: “The pressures faced by pharmacists in every sector are intense and have been for some time. Being continually stressed seems to have become the ‘new normal’ but it’s not sustainable long term and really affects the physical and mental health of many pharmacists and their teams. There is much evidence that demonstrates a stressful workplace can impact patient care too, as well as pharmacists’ own health.

“Please take the time to fill out our survey to let us know what your situation is like.”

Danielle Hunt, chief executive of Pharmacist Support, said: “As a direct result of the survey findings in [2021’s] workforce wellbeing survey, this year the charity’s ACTNow wellbeing campaign (which kicks off on 25 September 2022) focuses on workplace culture and stigma.

“The campaign will look at wellbeing from a workplace perspective, acknowledging that our workplaces can have both a positive and negative impact on our wellbeing.”