Table 3.
Precautionary measures pharmacists taking before consulting the patient.
| Items | n | % |
|---|---|---|
| After the COVID-19 outbreak, if a customer approached you with cold/flu-like symptoms, how do you handle such a patient? | ||
| No different than before the outbreak, I ask all the relevant questions and treat them accordingly including referral to | 17 | 8.3 |
| I ask specific questions to determine if they are potentially having COVID-19 and signpost them to 111 or their GP | 155 | 75.2 |
| I do not interact with them and signpost them to 111 or their GP | 22 | 10.7 |
| Since the COVID-19 outbreak, what specific precautions, if any, are you taking before consulting the patient? | ||
| No specific precautions at all, I interact with the patient as I used to before the outbreak | 2 | 1.0 |
| I maintain a safe distance of 2 m but do not take any additional precautions | 28 | 13.6 |
| I maintain a safe distance of 2 m and use a protective mask (surgical or N95) | 88 | 42.7 |
| I maintain a safe distance of 2 m, use a protective mask (surgical or N95), and use gloves and a plastic apron | 57 | 27.7 |
| Since the COVID19 outbreak, please outline what precautionary measures have you taken at a pharmacy level | ||
| There are specific policy and procedures in place and all staff are following these strictly | 102 | 49.5 |
| There are specific policy and procedures in place though not all staff are following these strictly | 66 | 32.0 |
| There is a protective hard plastic or glass screen (similar to the one seen in banks) being installed to shield pharmacy | 156 | 75.7 |
| Cash is not accepted as a payment method and only contactless card payments are accepted | 31 | 15.0 |
| Limited customers are allowed in a given time to maintain social distancing rules | 166 | 80.6 |
| Physical barriers are in place to ensure only limited customers are allowed at any given time to enforce social distancing | 108 | 52.4 |
| Hand sanitisers are placed at the entrance so all customers entering pharmacy can sanitise their hands before entering | 51 | 24.8 |
| Do's and Don'ts and clear instructions for customers are placed at the entrance of pharmacy using a visible poster | 154 | 74.8 |
| Please rate your satisfaction about the precautionary measures taken by the pharmacy you work in due to COVID19 outbreak | ||
| Very dissatisfied | 10 | 4.9 |
| Dissatisfied | 20 | 9.7 |
| Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied | 31 | 15.0 |
| Satisfied | 95 | 46.1 |
| Very satisfied | 43 | 20.9 |