Pharmacies and coronavirus – an update

1 Opening over the Easter weekend

NHS England has asked all pharmacies to open this coming Good Friday and Easter Monday to deal with patients requiring medication to help the fight against coronavirus.

Not all pharmacies will be able to open but there should be more open than usual at the holiday weekend.

2 Queuing and dealing with volunteers collecting medications

Following reports of patients experiencing lengthy queues to collect medication and of volunteers trying to collect medication on behalf of people who are in self-isolation being turned away, Healthwatch England has raised the issue with NHS England. It has been acknowledged that a problem has emerged and NHS England is now working with the pharmaceutical retailers to resolve it.

It may take a few days to sort out ways of reducing queues and easing the way for volunteers to collect medications but hopefully the problem should soon be dealt with.

Healthwatch Havering is working with the Havering Volunteer Centre to ensure that any difficulties locally are speedily resolved.