A community pharmacy in the Wirral stayed open until 1am to supply urgent medication to patients when a nearby hospital lost power.


A “significant power failure” at Arrowe Park Hospital near Upton last Thursday (March 5) meant out-of-hours GP services were transferred to St. Catherine’s Hospital in Tranmere, where an on-site MedicX Pharmacy provided patients with medicines into the night.
 

The pharmacy was used as part of the hospital’s “major incident response” and provided emergency scripts for antibiotics, painkillers and controlled drugs to more than 40 additional patients, while “many more” received healthcare advice following a GP referral, MedicX said.


Pharmacy manager Kathryn Chadwick said her team had volunteered to keep the branch open when the hospital’s out-of-hours team requested their help.


“The team I work with is very patient-centred, so it wasn’t a case of begging them to stay. Someone offered and I was happy to stay,” she told C+D.


The pharmacy’s contribution had raised awareness of how different healthcare professionals could “work as part of a team in times of need”, Ms Chadwick added.


MedicX operations and marketing director Gavin Birchall said the company had been "very proud" when it found out the pharmacy team was going to help. "Their actions will help to promote how pharmacy can react quickly to meet urgent health needs," he told C+D.


Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Arrowe Park Hospital, said it had been "great to see community colleagues supporting each other" in the wake of the power outage.

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