COVID-19: Ideas on how best to manage queues outside pharmacies
Written by admin on Thursday 9th April 2020
Managing queues safely and effectively is proving a challenge for many pharmacies. Please read on for some ideas that may help your business...
Please find below some simple guidance that we would like to share with you about how best to manage communication and the queues that have built up outside some pharmacies during this unprecedented pandemic.
The queues are inevitable at some times of the day, but by adopting some of the ideas below, we hope that you will reduce or avoid some of the negative responses that have occurred from a small minority of the public that can cause anguish to all concerned.
Helping Other Healthcare Workers & Volunteers
- Many community pharmacies report that in order to allow the 2m social distancing in their premises they are having to limit the number of people coming in at any one time. Some pharmacies are managing these queues, finding out who is in them and what medicines they need, so that the team inside can try to be ready for each customer. We should encourage pharmacies to think about queue management, especially in the run up to closing times, or if the pharmacy closes for lunch.
- As part of this, pharmacy could assist fellow healthcare workers and volunteers by allowing them to bypass the usual queue when coming to collect medicines. Given the valuable role that healthcare professionals are playing in the response to COVID-19, it is important that healthcare professionals and volunteers are supported to enable them to do their job as efficiently as possible and minimise their risk of contracting the virus.
Other successful methods:
One pharmacy is operating a scheme with volunteers where the volunteer (at a minimum of 2m away from the customer) asks the person their name and then; using a walkie talkie, communicates that to the pharmacy team who get their Rx ready for collection and calls them in. The volunteers have all be vetted, have signed confidentiality agreements and reviewed & signed the SOP. It is working very well, in addition to
- managing a 1 in 1 out policy at the door.
- delivering to all over 60’s and under 16’s to keep people out of the pharmacy. (or whatever you decide as appropriate)
More ideas can be gained by joining this week's CPSC Academy webinar on Tuesday 14th April at 8pm.
Please join us by booking in to the live weekly online webinar (link below) hosted by CPSC and Pharmacy Complete.