Mayor praises work of Kells & Connor Pharmacy throughout pandemic

The Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, Councillor Peter Johnston, recently awarded Kells & Connor Pharmacy with certificates of recognition for their tireless work throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Councillor Johnston’s sincere thanks and congratulations were offered to the local volunteers who had come forward to offer support to the local Community Pharmacy by way of completing mass deliveries of prescription medication to those shielding.

The Mayor, said: “It was great to have the opportunity to go out and deliver some of the medication for the pharmacy. I have been very encouraged to see the work of MEAAP right across the borough as they have stepped up to serve the community when we needed it most.

“I am excited to be touring across Mid & East Antrim to personally offer my thanks and that of the Council’s to over 500 volunteers who have been nominated for their efforts during this difficult time.”

Councillor William McCaughey, Manager of Kells & Connor Pharmacy, said how proud he was of his local community.

“The offers of support have been warmly welcomed by our team and they came in abundance, so much so that I was able to encourage volunteers to also support our local grocery store to help ensure people shielding had access to food as well as medication”.

Local teacher, Marcus Morrow, has been volunteering alongside Kells & Connor Pharmacy for several weeks now and noted the “pleasure” he gets out of going out and about this rural community to deliver the prescriptions.

“Finding some of the homes in this rural area has been fun, with many very remote but for some we are the only face they will see all day and so the chance to have a chat at a safe distance is welcomed by many.”

Kells & Connor is one of nine local Community Pharmacies that are supported by Mid & East Antrim Agewell Partnership (MEAAP) through the Community Support for Community Pharmacy Scheme.The scheme was developed and commissioned by the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) and is being coordinated by the Community Development and Health Network (CDHN).

MEAAP Executive Director, Deirdre McCloskey, said: “We are extremely proud to be able to offer this support to local Community Pharmacies across the Borough.

“Having been inundated with calls from many older people worried about getting their prescriptions at the onset of COVID-19, we as a local agewell charity knew we had to do something to support our community pharmacies.

“Following discussions with several, we knew the concept of mass deliveries was one that needed to be explored in order to reduce footfall in community pharmacies but also to make best use of the many volunteering offers being made to us.

“Our close working relationship with CDHN through various projects including Building Community Pharmacy Partnership and IMPACTAgewell® meant we knew the CDHN team could make this happen and to know that over 250 Community Pharmacies across Northern Ireland have now delivered over 40,000 prescriptions as a result of this small idea is just fabulous.”