During an interview with CPS chief executive Matt Barclay, STV News caught a snapshot of the “real-life drama” of pharmacy, Barclay this week (November 26) revealed.
“With the upcoming Scottish budget, STV News wanted to revisit community pharmacy as part of the broader discussion around...the implications of the National Insurance increase,” he said.
“Another day, another media piece,” he added.
Read more: Pharmacist hailed ‘hero’ after saving woman’s life from ‘near-fatal’ bee sting
“Real-life drama unfolded, however, when a patient arrived breathless, suffering from an acute asthma episode,” he said.
“The pharmacist and team responded professionally, demonstrating the care that pharmacy teams consistently provide in such critical scenarios, which, unfortunately, do arise from time to time,” he added.
“Hats off”
“In the aftermath, I stepped in to safely check some prescriptions – proper work, some might say – while the pharmacist ensured the patient’s wellbeing remained the top priority,” Barclay said.
“Thankfully, after some time, the patient was fine,” he added.
“This incident won’t feature in the TV piece, but it perfectly illustrates the added value community pharmacies bring to their local populations as trusted healthcare providers,” he said.
Read more: Dismissed nine times by GP: Pharmacist ‘saves life’ of student with brain tumour
“Hats off to the team at Deans Pharmacy, Falkirk”, he stressed.
Last October, Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland (CPNI) revealed that a community pharmacist treated and saved a woman’s life after she experienced a bee sting that caused a near-fatal allergic reaction.
And in September, a student told C+D that a pharmacist “saved [her] life” after recognising that her symptoms were those of a brain tumour.
