Reading List

A short reading list to support and extend learning from Mindfulness for Pharmacy Staff.

This course treats mindfulness as a practical self-management approach for pharmacy staff, not as a specialist therapy. The items below focus on official guidance, workplace stress, and staff wellbeing. England-facing routes are slightly more prominent where national entry points are clearer; Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are signposted where their support pathways differ.

1. Core Pharmacy and Workplace Guidance

• GPhC - Standards for pharmacy professionals
  The core professional standards for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Great Britain. Useful for linking self-awareness, professional judgement, communication, and person-centred care to safe everyday practice under pressure.
  https://assets.pharmacyregulation.org/files/standards_for_pharmacy_professionals_may_2017_0.pdf

• NICE - Mental wellbeing at work (NG212)
  Current NICE guidance on supportive workplace culture, manager support, and reducing mental wellbeing risks at work. Helps explain why mindfulness should complement, not replace, workplace measures.
  https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng212

• HSE - Work-related stress and how to manage it
  The Health and Safety Executive overview of work-related stress in Great Britain. Describes employer duties to assess and manage workplace stress rather than leaving it solely to individual coping strategies.
  https://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/overview.htm

2. Mindfulness and Everyday Practice

• NHS Every Mind Matters - What is mindfulness?
  A practical NHS introduction to mindfulness: what it means, how it can help, and simple ways to use it in daily life. A straightforward foundation for the techniques in this course.
  https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-wellbeing-tips/what-is-mindfulness/

• NHS Every Mind Matters - How to meditate for beginners
  A simple NHS guide to short meditation practices, useful for learners who want to build on mindful breathing and start a brief routine.
  https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-wellbeing-tips/how-to-meditate-for-beginners/

• NHS inform - Controlled breathing exercise
  A Scotland-facing NHS resource on a controlled breathing technique that can help people feel calmer and think more clearly before reacting. It fits with the short reset practices described in this course.
  https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/mental-wellbeing/breathing-and-relaxation-exercises/controlled-breathing-exercise/

3. Support Routes Across the Four Nations

• England - NHS talking therapies for anxiety and depression
  The national NHS route for accessing talking therapies in England. Use this when stress is persistent, is developing into anxiety or low mood, or is no longer manageable with self-help alone.
  https://www.nhs.uk/talk

• Scotland - NHS inform: What to do if you are struggling with stress
  A Scotland-facing NHS page covering stress symptoms, coping steps, and where to seek more help beyond the techniques in this course.
  https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/mental-wellbeing/stress/what-to-do-if-you-are-struggling-with-stress/

• Wales - HEIW Mental health
  An NHS Wales workforce wellbeing page that brings together mental health and practical support resources for staff in Wales.
  https://heiw.nhs.wales/workforce/workforce-wellbeing/mental-health/

• Northern Ireland - nidirect Workplace stress
  A Northern Ireland government resource on workplace stress, including warning signs, practical actions, and employer and worker responsibilities.
  https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/workplace-stress

Use this list to deepen your knowledge of mindfulness, practical ways to manage stress, and official support routes when pressure needs more than self-help.