Cumbria pharmacies overcome floods to serve patients
Allisons Chemist in Cockermouth was hit with 14 inches of water on Saturday night
Pharmacies in Cockermouth, Cumbria struggled through a “manic” weekend to serve locals forced from their homes by Storm Desmond, C+D has learned.
Staff at Allisons Chemist – which sits at the heart of the village – had to move stock upstairs after the nearby River Derwent burst its banks and flooded the premises on Saturday night (December 8), according to pharmacy manager Angela Garrison.
“It was 14 inches of water overnight, but when we can back in the morning it was just residual mud. The computer was still working upstairs so we were able to get prescriptions and medicines out to people – we never actually closed,” she told C+D today (December 8).
The pharmacy was flooded in 2009 so staff "know what to do" in this situation, Ms Garrison added.
Record-breaking rainfall
The storm hit the UK on Saturday and caused record-breaking rainfall in Cumbria, according to the Met Office.
The government confirmed yesterday that a “number” of people have died because of the storm. More than 3,000 properties had been flooded across the country, with the majority in Cumbria, it added.
|
|
|
Storm Desmond sent water from the River Derwent surging through the streets of Cockermouth |
Castlegate Pharmacy – which lies on a hill in Cockermouth and therefore avoided the floodwaters – stayed open from 10am to 8pm on Sunday. It called in extra staff to deal with patients who needed emergency prescriptions, according to pharmacy manager Mark Stanhope.
“[It was a] terrible situation. Obviously everyone whose houses have been flooded needed emergency prescriptions. There have been people coming in for insulin, warfarins, you name it,” he said.
The surrounding area had come to a “standstill” because of the floods, Mr Stanhope said. “We’ve been getting phone calls from people who can’t make it in and we’ve been able to deliver [medicines] out to them. Our drivers will be doing that for the rest of the week,” he added.
If your pharmacy has been affected by Storm Desmond, please email pictures and details of how you have tried to help patients to [email protected].
Has your pharmacy been hit by the floods?
We want to hear your views, but please express them in the spirit of a constructive, professional debate. For more information about what this means, please click here to see our community principles and information
