The Department of Health and all national pharmacy bodies are urging community pharmacy teams to be prepared to help public health in the event of a suspected case of Ebola. While the Ebola virus is spreading through west Africa, there have been no confirmed cases in the UK and the risk of the virus arriving here remains low. Guidance issued by PSNC recommends that all pharmacy contractors take the following three steps: prominently display Ebola posters provided by Public Health England/NHS England; ensure that pharmacy staff are well informed with a poster/flyer aimed at staff and stay up-to-date by looking out for further alerts from PSNC.

Posters aimed at the public and pharmacy staff are currently being distributed to pharmacies and are also available for download from psnc.org.uk. All staff should read the poster/flyer and be confident of what action to take if a customer presents with Ebola symptoms.