PQS: Ask for ANI to wind down but Safe Spaces to continue
The Home Office has announced that the Ask for ANI emergency codeword scheme that was launched during the pandemic will conclude on 4th November 2024.
Both the Ask for ANI and Safe Spaces programme featured in the 2022/23 Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS) with staff being asked to complete reading and training around the two schemes. Many pharmacy owners also decided to register their pharmacies as a Safe Space and to participate in Ask for ANI.
Ahead of the conclusion of the Ask for ANI scheme, Hestia, the charity behind Safe Spaces, has written to all pharmacies that are signed up to both schemes to confirm if they would like to continue to offer their consultation room as a Safe Space as this scheme will be continuing (it is just Ask for ANI that is finishing).
The Safe Spaces scheme differs from the Ask for ANI codeword in that it is a self-service model. The role of the staff member is only to provide a quiet and private space, where a victim-survivor can choose to call friends and family, or a specialist helpline.
Pharmacy owners are asked to confirm whether they would or would not like to continue to be part of the Safe Spaces scheme by completing a short online form.* Pharmacy owners that opt in will be provided with updated posters, access to training and monitoring systems to continue to deliver the Safe Spaces scheme.
If you have any questions or queries on this matter, please email uksaysnomore@hestia.org.
*Pharmacy teams working in multiple pharmacy groups may want to check with their head office whether the survey should be completed at pharmacy level or whether the head office team will complete it.
