Aston University's pharmacy school and the Pharmacists' Defence Association have begun a study that will examine the impact of Covid-19 on pharmacy practice in the UK.

The research, which is being funded by the two organisations, will assess pharmacists' knowledge and attitude towards the disease with the aim of informing policies and training as pharmacy teams try to avoid occupational exposure with the pandemic.

Pharmacists will be asked to answer questions online such as what sources of information they use to further their knowledge of the virus, whether they feel they need more training and what they would do if they or any members of their household had symptoms of Covid-19.

The PDA said it wanted to involve a minimum of 460 community pharmacists in the survey. Those participating will remain anonymous and the data will be kept confidential.

"The results of this study may be published in scientific journals and/or presented at conferences. If the results of the study are published, your identity will remain confidential,” said the PDA, adding that “a lay summary of the results of the study will be available for participants when the study has been completed.”