In Business

Follow this topic

Bookmark

Record learning outcomes

National Pharmacy Association chair Olivier Picard yesterday confronted a man who stole goods from his pharmacy and “threatened” Mr Picard when challenged. 

Posting footage of the theft on social media yesterday (August 19), Mr Picard said that despite the incident being captured on CCTV local police told him they would not be sending officers out to the pharmacy to investigate the incident.  

Mr Picard wrote on LinkedIn that while he was speaking to a patient about vaccinations at Newdays Pharmacy, “a man in a hoodie and cap walked in, picked items off the shelf and walked out without a second thought”.

The NPA chair ran out of the pharmacy and confronted the thief, who “turned around and threatened me for challenging him”. 

Thames Valley Police gave Mr Picard a crime number when he called them but “later emailed to say they wouldn’t be attending and would instead send a crime prevention officer in the coming days”.

“While I’m grateful for the response, I couldn’t help but feel something was missing,” he wrote. “My staff and patients deserve to feel safe.”

Mr Picard wrote: “My pharmacy is based in one of the most deprived areas of Reading, but that should never mean we simply accept theft as part of the job.”

He said the “shocking experience” highlights how vulnerable community pharmacies are”. 

The theft came just a week after the NPA revealed 88 per cent of its members have seen a surge in shoplifting in the past year, while 88 per cent had seen an increase in aggressive behaviour from the public towards pharmacy teams and 22 per cent reporting incidents of physical violence against staff. 

P3pharmacy also revealed last week that Avicenna chair Salim Jetha had been forced to remove all his OTC stock from the shop floor of his pharmacy after shoplifters stole £100 worth of stock on a daily basis. 

Thames Valley Police has been approached for comment.