Treat Pharmacy Staff with Respect | Croasdales Pharmacy

Treat Our Pharmacy Team with Respect – We're Here to Help You

National Health Campaign | 5–25 October 2026

At Croasdales Pharmacy, we are proud to support the NHS national campaign encouraging patients and members of the public to treat pharmacy staff with kindness, patience and respect.

Our teams at Croasdales Pharmacy in Bury St Edmunds town centre and Mountpharm in Moreton Hall work incredibly hard every day to provide safe, professional healthcare to our local community.

We understand that needing medication, experiencing delays or dealing with health concerns can be stressful and frustrating. However, we ask all patients to remember that the people behind the pharmacy counter are doing their very best to help.

We are here to help you. Thank you for treating us with respect.

Behind Every Prescription Is a Team Working Hard for You

Community pharmacies provide far more than simply handing out medication.

Our pharmacists and pharmacy teams are responsible for dispensing prescriptions safely, checking medications, managing stock shortages, providing healthcare advice and delivering an increasing range of NHS services.

Every prescription must undergo the necessary clinical and accuracy checks before it can be safely supplied.

There may be occasions when our pharmacist is consulting with another patient, administering a vaccination or providing a clinical service. During these times, patients may experience additional waiting times.

We appreciate that delays can be inconvenient, but these important checks and responsibilities cannot be rushed or compromised.

Patient safety will always remain our priority.

Understanding the Pressures Facing Community Pharmacies

Like many independent community pharmacies across the country, we are working under increasing pressure.

Rising operating costs, medicine supply shortages, growing prescription volumes and increasing demand for NHS healthcare services all present daily challenges.

Sometimes medications are unavailable from suppliers, prescriptions have not yet been received from GP surgeries, or additional clinical checks are required before medication can be handed out.

Whilst our team will always do everything reasonably possible to resolve these issues, many of these circumstances are outside their immediate control.

We understand the frustration this can cause, particularly when patients rely on their medication to manage ongoing health conditions.

However, taking that frustration out on pharmacy staff will not resolve the situation or speed up the process.

Abuse Towards Pharmacy Staff Is Never Acceptable

Unfortunately, verbal abuse, aggressive behaviour and intimidation towards healthcare workers are becoming increasingly common.

No member of our team should feel threatened, intimidated or upset simply for carrying out their job.

At Croasdales Pharmacy, we believe that everyone deserves to feel safe and respected, including our patients and our staff.

We therefore ask all visitors to our pharmacies to:

• Speak to our team politely and respectfully, even when frustrated.

• Be patient when prescriptions require additional checks or there are unavoidable delays.

• Understand that medicine shortages and GP prescription processing times are not always within our control.

• Respect patient confidentiality when our pharmacists are assisting others.

• Raise concerns calmly so that we can work together towards a solution.

We have a zero-tolerance approach to threatening, abusive, discriminatory or violent behaviour towards our team.

We will always listen to genuine concerns and complaints, but these must be communicated respectfully.

How You Can Help Us Help You

There are a few simple things patients can do to help us provide an efficient service.

Order your repeat prescriptions in good time. Please allow your GP surgery time to process your prescription, followed by sufficient time for our pharmacy to dispense and clinically check your medication.

Let us know when you plan to collect. Where possible, notify us in advance so that we can prepare your medication and help reduce your waiting time.

Be understanding when delays occur. Our pharmacists may be providing essential healthcare services or carrying out safety checks that require their full attention.

Speak to us if you have concerns. We welcome constructive feedback and will always endeavour to resolve problems fairly and professionally.

A Little Kindness Makes a Big Difference

Our pharmacy teams are people too. They are members of our local community, with families, responsibilities and challenges of their own.

A simple thank you, a little patience or a kind word can make a tremendous difference during a busy working day.

We are incredibly proud of our dedicated team and the care they provide to our patients, often whilst working under considerable pressure.

We remain committed to providing a friendly, professional and safe environment for everyone who visits our pharmacies.

Respect works both ways, and we will always endeavour to treat our patients with the same kindness, dignity and understanding that we ask them to show our staff.

Thank You for Supporting Your Local Independent Pharmacy

As a family-run independent pharmacy, we value the relationships we have built with our patients and the wider Bury St Edmunds community.

We are grateful to the many patients who regularly show our team patience, understanding and appreciation.

By treating one another with respect, we can continue working together to ensure that our pharmacies remain welcoming, safe places to access essential healthcare.

We are here to care for you. Please help us by caring for the people who care for you.

The Team at Croasdales Pharmacy & Mountpharm

Supporting the NHS National Health Campaign: Treat Pharmacy Staff with Respect | October 2026