Covid-19: Diary of a front-line pharmacist (30/3/20)

Hours worked: 9hrs

Meals: 1

Water: 3 cups

Toilet breaks: 0

I am back at work after a weekend of rest. Unfortunately while my mind feels a bit more rested, my body still hurts - especially my lower back. I think it will be hurting for some time to come. Walking into work this morning I am greeted with notes of requests to trespass two customers. Once again my staff have been abused and the store's property damaged. But I know the police still won't help. People take advantage of a situation like this and get away with it. There's only so much the store's security can do. I sigh and proceed to make a note on their files to warn staff to refuse service of these two customers in the future.

We open up the pharmacy to the public at 9:30AM. It has been an unusually quiet day. Either the rush is over or the rain and cold have been keeping people in. It is good news for the pharmacy team though, we are finally able to catch up on work besides doing prescriptions. My whole team takes the opportunity to work on things that have been put aside for weeks since the panic all began. I have hope we may be able to reopen the over the counter section to the public again.

Despite the quiet day, it is not without its challenges. Straight from the get-go a staff has fallen ill with early symptoms of the unspeakable. We phone HealthLine for advice but the response is no surprise: stay home and no testing as you do not qualify. I send my staff home and give pointers on what to do and what to look out for. I am beyond frustrated. I have been in the same situation myself with a few other staff just weeks prior. We showed mild symptoms but because we haven't traveled or came into contact with a suspected or confirmed case, we don't qualify for testing. While I understand there is a limit to the number of testing we can do per day, but one would think that health professionals would be a priority no matter the stage of infection. Another major point to consider would be that without comprehensive testing, how do you identify the real number of infected people? If people are not identified, how do you bring it under control? Some would say self-isolation will help but the method won't work when you do not have draconian measures in place to help enforce it. The police and the public are still confused by what you can and cannot do in a lockdown. How our leaders think the lockdown will work is beyond me.

We also finally received our Perspex shields today, though there were a few pieces missing so the service counter is only half protected. A few of the store's managers came to help us put it up as well as at the check outs. It took too long for this to be implemented. I shudder to think the number of people that have likely been exposed due to the lack of protection. Due to lack of central leadership, it's up to the business to try and protect their staff. Even now, we have limited face masks, gloves and hand sanitisers. There are no protective gown or overalls at all. All staff are at risk. I still question why our government prioritised banks over supermarkets and health professionals. I guess I'm not a politician so I can't think like a politician. Perhaps it makes sense to protect the money instead of the people.

Before noon the news broke. All waged staff in the business are to receive a temporary 10% pay rise. Waged staff... so not salaried staff. As expected rage from various sources ensued. The business managed to alienate their leaders who have been working long hours alongside their staff to make things work. Bravo!

Further news broke as there's now talk of discussions on whether essential businesses are to stay open during the Easter holidays. I'm not sure who keeps coming up with these brilliant ideas but they should keep them coming. It certainly makes sense to keep cracking that whip, otherwise the nation would be without food and supplies for two days.

I finish work at my usual time and head out to make a delivery to a vulnerable patient. Even though there hasn't been a crazy number of customers or prescriptions I'm already exhausted. I'm not sure why our leaders are continuing to make one mistake after another. To hear the prime minister say that they are working on issues as they come is not good enough. I'm frustrated we are not working to stay ten steps ahead where we should be. Have they given up? Have we been forsaken? I continue to ponder many things on my drive home, thinking what tomorrow will bring and how else I can protect my staff. We have to count on ourselves to survive.

Live. Love. Laugh. Liberate.

- Avis Knows

(This post was originally posted to Avis Knows Consulting Pharmacist.)