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The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) presented key evidence to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry on 10 September, underscoring the vital role of pharmacists and pharmacy teams during the pandemic. Deirdre Domingo, legal representative for the RPS, delivered the statement during the Module 3 public hearings, which focus on the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare systems across the UK. As the professional body representing pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists in Great Britain, the RPS urged the Inquiry to consider several critical issues: Recognition of pharmacists as key workers The RPS highlighted the crucial role pharmacy teams played in ensuring continued access to essential medicines and their integral involvement in the roll-out of COVID-19 and flu vaccinations. However, the Society also raised concerns over significant failures and challenges, such as inadequate safety measures to protect pharmacists at work, confusing national guidance, increased hostility towards healthcare professionals, and a disparity in the treatment of community pharmacy compared to NHS staff.

At the UK Covid-19 Inquiry's Module 3 hearings on 10 September, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) highlighted that community pharmacy was "often overlooked and under-recognised" during the pandemic. Lawyer Lee John-Charles, speaking on behalf of the NPA, told the Inquiry that despite the central role played by community pharmacy in the delivery of NHS care throughout the pandemic, community pharmacists and their teams were "not given comparable treatment to other frontline healthcare workers." The NPA criticised the initial exclusion of pharmacy workers from the Life Assurance Scheme for frontline workers in England, calling on the Inquiry to investigate this notable omission. The NPA also pointed out that community pharmacies were forced to source and fund their own personal protective equipment (PPE) as it was not initially available to them through the NHS.