Pharmacy staff are "racing" to prepare medication for patients forced from their homes by the Thames floods.

A "large proportion" of patients of Millman Pharmacy in Egham, Surrey, were being evacuated, with many leaving their medicines in their flooded homes, pharmacy manager Lance Roth told C+D on Monday (February 10).

There had been a race by pharmacy staff and doctors to ensure 12 evacuated patients still had access to medication, Mr Roth said. But he was concerned about residents at a nearby retirement village, who were also due to be evacuated before the electricity was switched off.

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	The homes of both of Mr Roth's pharmacy staff had been affected by the floods and he expected the situation to get much worse.

Staff at Datchet Village Pharmacy in Berkshire said they were diverting patients to the back of the premises as water from the river reached the pavement outside.

Pharmacy technician Nadine Urbanski was moving stock from the lower shelves to avoid it getting damaged by water, she told C+D on Monday.

Water was rising quickly from the nearby golf course and was "probably going to hit the shop", she added. But the community had been helping each other out by laying down sandbags as a flood defence, she added.

Staff were bracing themselves for further flooding as the Environment Agency issued a high flood risk for the Thames on Tuesday. The agency expected the flooding to affect "whole communities" and cause widespread disruption to travel, it said yesterday (February 11).