How can we meet the needs of customers with disabilities?

Under the law, you must ensure that customers with disabilities can access your service in the same way, or as close to the same way, as customers without a disability. When this is not possible, you must offer a reasonable alternative. This may mean doing things differently and providing the service in a different way. These differences are often described using the term “accessibility”. Whilst some customers may have specific needs, making our pharmacies more accessible will benefit all customers.

Some basic tips:

1. Never assume the existence or absence of a disability
2. Always ask the customer how you can best assist them
3. Remember that you may need to do things differently for a customer but the standard of service you provide should be the same
4. Be prepared to offer and spend more time with someone who might need it
5. Listen to the customer and respect their choices as you would do with any other customer
6. If the customer has another person with them don’t assume that person is a carer and make sure you address the customer directly.
7. Provide training for staff

The next few pages will give some examples of ways you can support different types of disability in your pharmacy.

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