AGGRESSIVE behaviour towards frontline pharmacy staff is continuing to rise, with a Victorian pharmacy assistant (PA) the latest victim of in-store violence amid fears of medicines shortages.
Torquay PA, Spencer McKenzie, was struck on the head with a glass bottle on Fri at the Surf Coast Pharmacy, by a patient claiming to be infected with COVID-19, the Geelong Advertiser reports.
The 25-year-old suffered cuts to her ear, which required treatment.
"We get that people are scared, we are scared, too," she said.
"I just wish they would just remember that we are people.
"Think about how you are treating us because it is having such an impact on us.
"We are trying our hardest. We are all so exhausted.
"We are not the reason medication is running out."
The woman alleged to have thrown the bottle at McKenzie is believed to be known to police, and the Geelong Advertiser reported that "she has been belligerent to pharmacy staff in the past".
McKenzie told the paper that limits on the sale of a number of medications including Ventolin had angered many patients.
"I'm trying to do my job as fairly as possible," she said.
"One guy [who couldn't get access to Ventolin] punched the door on the way out recently."
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