'This week I have seen the best and worst of people,' says pharmacist trying to cope with coronavirus outbreak
A pharmacist has revealed what it is like to deal with the public in the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak that has struck the country.
Elaine Amoroso, a pharmacist in Kildare, has written to the Irish Examiner newspaper to describe what she calls "the most challenging week in all my 15 years as a Community Pharmacist".
Ms Amoroso said that all the training and books at Pharmacy School do not prepare you for dealing with a national crisis "and the associated fear so many are feeling".
She said: "Yes we are well trained and educated in all the health and safety aspects of the virus. We understand well the hygiene standards that are required. However guaranteed supplies of critical items in high demand, such as hand sanitiser, gloves, medical wipes and face masks at this time are not assured from suppliers."
She revealed that her pharmacy recently took 104 phone calls in one day from people asking if they have any hand sanitiser.
Ms Amoroso said: "Our day typically starts with customers straight through the door 'do you have any hand sanitiser?'. Unfortunately we don’t."
She added that frustration around the situation can make people angry.
She said: "To my surprise one person actually cursed at me and said it was f****** ridiculous . All I can say is I am sorry about that.
This week I have witnessed the best and worst of human nature. We have been inundated with unprecedented demand for services. We have the same level of staffing but a much higher work demand under acutely stressful conditions.
"Even if additional staff were to be made available the correct procedures for dispensing can take time to develop. We have excellent OTC health care assistants and they excel at what they do."
Ms Amoroso said people's fear can lead to "so many unreasonable demands".
She said: "Patients wanting to stockpile up on codeine products. Codeine as most people are aware is subject to restriction and requires a Pharmacist consultation.
"I witnessed angry patients at the thought of having to wait to speak to the Pharmacist. Then upon refusing them two boxes of Solpadeine and two boxes of Nurofen plus the abuse started.
"I was kindly trying to advise them that codeine will do very little for the symptoms of Covid 19 apart from causing them painful constipation which wouldn’t be helpful in quarantine by any means."
Yesterday, the HSE revealed that people have been flooding GP out-of-hours centres and the 999 emergency line looking to be tested for Covid-19.
They also said the 999 emergency line has been getting a "high volume" of calls with requests for tests.
Members of the public who have normal cold and flu symptoms or who believe they may have been in contact with Covid-19 are being asked to self-isolate and call a GP on Monday.
The HSE is asking people to keep 999 and 112 for emergencies only and says out-of-hours doctors cannot order tests.
Ms Amoroso said it is correct that people not visit the GP surgery as part of controls, but it has put an extra workload on community pharmacies as people go to them for advice, reassurance and medication.
She said: "This in many cases has had the unintended consequence of pharmacies potentially becoming incubators for Covid-19 if strict procedures are not developed and implemented to mitigate the potential spread of Covid-19 within pharmacies to both patients and staff.
While vague guidance has been issued from the various governing bodies, more proactive and decisive guidance is critical with time of the essence.
"We have set up a containment area in the pharmacy at the door as it is our only hope of crowd control. During the week it was frightening to think we were losing control on the crowds with twenty to thirty patients in close proximity waiting to get served. Staff then had to devote precious time to crowd control."
However, it has not been all bad as some customers realise the hard work that pharmacists are carrying out to curtail the spread of the virus.
MS Amoroso said: "Then we meet the best in the world. Those that come in and thank us for being there and that they really appreciate the reassurance.
"We meet people so thankful that we are making attempts to keep the pharmacy sanitised at all times and the crowd control is reassuring that they feel protected. These are the patients who are our sunshine on a cloudy day.
"In conclusion, I would like to emphasis the key role that community pharmacies have and will continue to play in the National Crisis that is Covid-19.
"I would ask for patience from our patients and the appropriate support from the local authorities and governing bodies as we try work together in the weeks and months ahead."
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