COVID-19

Current operations and service

This is a message to update all of our customers who use our pharmacy. Thank-you for everyone's support, kind words and patience. We are hopeful that everything is moving in the right direction as we strive to get back to a normal way of life before the pandemic emerged. It is not mandatory to wear a face mask or covering in our pharmacy now. We do encourage all those who wish to wear a face mask to continue to do so as a measure to protect themselves and others. We have relaxed the limit on the number of customers allowed into the pharmacy at any one time. We respectfully ask that, if it seems busy inside the pharmacy at the time of your visit, to please queue outside the door leading into the pharmacy in an effort to maintain social distancing. We do aim to keep the queue moving to minimise waiting for our customers but there will be certain peak times where this is unavoidable. Please bear with us when this occurs. Measures we have taken include a protective screen at the front counter, a regular cleaning schedule and signing prescriptions on behalf of all our patients. 

NHS FLU VACCINATIONS 65 YEARS & OVER

We are pleased to announce that we are able to offer appointments in September for the flu vaccination this season for those who are 65 years or older. We will be looking to add further dates in due course. Flu vaccinations will be by  appointment only so please click on the the following link to book online:

Please could all patients who are booking an appointment for a flu vaccination click on the following link https://preconsult.app/pc/FM668 and fill out the necessary details prior to their appointment. This is to save time and ensure we can run the appointments on time. Alternatively you can turn up 5 minutes early, scan a QR code available in the pharmacy using a smartphone/tablet and complete prior to your appointment. For those who would struggle to manage this a member of staff can help complete on your behalf; just remember to turn 5 minutes beforehand to allow time for this. The flu jab will be given in the arm so you should wear a short sleeved top.

NHS FLU VACCINATIONS 18 — 64 YEARS

We will be offering free NHS flu vaccinations for 18-64 year olds for those who are eligible in October. Online booking will be made available once we have confirmed delivery dates for these vaccines. To determine if you are eligible for a free NHS flu vaccination this season please click the following link: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/flu-influenza-vaccine/. Please note that we will not be offering a private flu vaccination at this time. 

• ORDERING PRESCRIPTIONS - We are currently asking customers to order as usual and we will allow up to 1-2 weeks before they are due. Please do not request more than 2 months at a time or order too early (without good reason). This will only contribute to prescriptions not being issued and medicine shortages. The pharmacy can get very busy and the phone at times will ring continuously. We would strongly encourage anyone who has an internet connection to register and use our website to order prescriptions online. You can also link to an app and use your smart phone to order. Details are set out on our website. This will free up the phone to allow customers who cannot use online services to phone through their prescription orders. It also helps to free up our time to keep on top of the large workload we have. For those who like to come in to order their repeat prescription and are a patient of Westbourne Medical Centre, to avoid queuing and save time, please use your white repeat prescription order form, tick what you want then drop this off in the repeat prescription box just inside the main entrance of the surgery. We always put a copy of your latest repeat prescription order form with your most recent prescription. Please note we do ask for 3 working days minimum to process prescriptions. Coming in to collect before your prescription is due only contributes to our workload so please avoid doing this if possible.

Please try to order your main repeat prescription all at once rather than at different times.  We can help with issuing specific amounts rounded up or down to the nearest half-pack to synchronise all your medication. This means you will be able to order everything at the same time going forward and will be of beneficial to both you and us. 

• DELIVERY SERVICE - Poole Bay Pharmacy currently offer free delivery to anyone who is 70 or over.  For those under 70 who require a delivery there will be a charge of £2 to cover some of the additional costs we will incur. For those who wish to make use of this service please call the pharmacy or contact us via our website. Please order in good time. Due to our high volume of deliveries  we ask to allow 3-4 working days before you will receive your medication. We do not deliver on the weekend.

NOTE: For those customers who live outside a 2 mile radius of our pharmacy it may be easier to get your prescription transferred to a more local pharmacy. With the massive surge in demand for deliveries we will not be able to deliver to those that live some distance away. If unsure please check with the pharmacy first.

Finally I want to express my huge appreciation for how understanding all our customers have been  since COVID 19 first appeared on the scene. We would encourage all those feeling vulnerable and in need of support or simply just requiring some advice to please call us; we can't always get to our phones in time but we will endeavour to give everyone we speak to the time and help they require. Many of you have sent cards and/or spoken with sincere gratitude and appreciation for what we do. A massive thank-you to every single one of you; it really does make a big difference to us here at the pharmacy to receive such encouraging feedback.

With regards to COVID vaccinations, I would personally like to say that there a variety of reasons for why someone would choose to get vaccinated or not. Vaccinations are one of  a number of  effective measures in the fight against COVID-19 but we should not be ostracising those who choose not to get vaccinated because they have legitimate and genuine concerns. We need to be inclusive as a community and society and be kind to each other. No-one should be left behind or disadvantaged because they do not wish to get vaccinated at this time. Poole Bay Pharmacy is committed to doing our absolute best to meet all your needs and providing the best advice we can. If you have concerns or questions it is best to contact us by phone or message us using our website.

Yours Sincerely,

Atheel Edmunds
(Superintendent Pharmacist Manager)

on behalf of all the Poole Bay Pharmacy team.

Monday 30th August 2021