When we think about the impact of the COVID-19 on the mental health of frontline health workers, we often think about nurses and doctors – yet the impact has been far more widespread than that. Pharmacists have been at the coalface of the pandemic and supporting their communities through the challenges of the last 18 months – and it’s taken a toll.

Wei-Leong Tay is a pharmacist and director of Heatherton Road PharmaSave and Endeavour Hills Amcal+ Pharmacy, and said his experiences have ranged from the frightening, upsetting, and messy to the rewarding.

“As pharmacists, we are always reacting to what's happening in the community with the outbreaks and lockdowns”, he told HealthTimes.

“At the start, people were very scared and panic buying, and coming in asking for multiples of their medications. And we'd have to delegate and make sure that we had enough stuff with everyone.”

“There was a time when Panadol was out of stock everywhere, and we had poor mothers coming in with their crying children, desperately trying to find Panadol for their kids. And that’s so hard.”

“We had to share stocks through different pharmacies. People were desperate so we were reserving stock and sharing stuff around wherever we could, just trying to help each other out – but it was messy.”

Mr Tay said a particularly anxious time came when they had a shortage of protection equipment.

“There was a lot of uncertainty and stress, as we didn’t have enough PPEs.”

“I remember when we started, we didn’t even have masks – everything was out of stock everywhere, and we couldn't get any of the government supply stock either.”

“I think they sent us one box of 50 masks, when we have a team of 30. That's all we got from the government after multiple emails. So the support wasn't really there, or maybe we just didn't know how to access that support efficiently.”

“Luckily, my mother-in-law had connections to someone who made the ear loops for the masks and so we managed to secure some masks from China – this had to be shipped over and took a couple of months to get there because of COVID.”

“But at least we got that stock of masks so we could protect our staff and even sell some masks to the general public as well.”

“It really was a scramble and quite an onerous task to do amongst all the other daily things, when we’re already dealing with anxiety in the general public and their concerns.”

Mr Tay said that like many businesses, his pharmacies had to adapt quickly to a new situation, and new restrictions, that were constantly changing.

“It’s very hard to sort of operate a business in that regard, and it's also been challenging to adapt to the new ways of doing things.”

“We were all pretty scared when the first lockdown happened in March, because we didn't really know what we're dealing with, and obviously we had staff to look out for and the community to keep them safe.”

“So, we were implementing measures to protect everyone and that was quite stressful”, Mr Tay explained.

“It also took a toll on staff in the sense that it was up to them to implement some of the measures, like screening patients and checking everyone before they come in – and that has been mentally and physically tiring on top of what they already do.”

Mr Tay said what started as a widespread fear and panic about the virus has now shifted to a mixture of complacency and misinformation about vaccines.

“The mood in our community has definitely changed dramatically. As time has gone by, everyone's worn down by it and they're getting a bit more complacent now as well.”

“If you look at it today, a lot of people are just going by, doing their own thing, coming in as usual, and they're not really worrying about it too much.”

“Now it's more about the focus on vaccinations, the concerns around the vaccines and the safety of the vaccines.”

“We started the AstraZeneca vaccine roll out in our pharmacies so we're dealing with a lot of questions and phone calls now about it.”

“And obviously, everyone is asking whether we have Pfizer vaccines”, Mr Tay added.

“Then on top of that, you've got the anti-vaxxers all attacking us as well. We got letters from anti-vaxxers, our Facebook page is inundated with comments that we have to moderate or block.”

“But overall, right now, people are definitely getting tired of it. It is hard to see people not doing the right thing, but it's hard to police as well.”

Mr Tay said that, just like his community, he’s had his ups and downs, and moments of feeling overwhelmed by his job.

“Obviously, I know that we are very fortunate to have a job during this climate and that we can work through a pandemic.”

“Honestly, there are days when I'm just glad that the day is over. But I know I'm providing a service that is absolutely needed, and I remind myself of that.”

“As pharmacists, we've been on call during this whole pandemic, we've been easily accessible, and we've been there for our local community from the start.”

“Of course, that's been tiring and stressful. There are days when I go home and I think ‘jeez, I've had enough of solving everyone else's problems, I've got my own problems to deal with too’”.

“But overall, I'm really grateful to be in the position that I am. It is a very rewarding job at the end of the day”, Mr Tay said.

Over-the-counter medicine brand, Chemists’ Own has partnered with Mental Health Foundation Australia to promote better mental health in local communities around Australia. As part of the partnership, Mental Health Foundation Australia will also host a special event dedicated to discussing the mental health of pharmacists – acknowledging the vital role pharmacists play in our community’s response to mental health issues, as well as recognising the mental health issues that pharmacists themselves are increasingly vulnerable to as a result of their profession. As partners and proud supporters of Mental Health Foundation Australia, every purchase of a Chemists’ Own product will support the important work of the Foundation in championing positive mental health across Australia.