Two south London pharmacies are facing thousands of pounds worth of repairs after being hit by 3ft floods from a burst water main.   

Brockwell Park Pharmacy and Fourway Pharmacy at Herne Hill, Southwark, were among 36 homes and businesses damaged after a water pipe burst on Wednesday morning (August 8). The water surged into Fourway Pharmacy, flooding the sales area, consulting room, dispensary and basement.

Water surged into Fourways Pharmacy on Wednesday morning, flooding the sales area

Staff were still awaiting the final cost of the damage yesterday, but pharmacy technician Aleksandra Kaminska-Kotlega said she expected that the shop, which underwent a refit two years ago, would need repairs.  

"I got here at about 7am yesterday and the water was really high, up on the roof of the cars in the street," she told C+D. "I had to wait four hours to get to the shop until the power was off."

"The water was up to the second shelf. It's really bad. I did not expect all this," she added. 

Fourways staff expect the store, which was refitted two years ago, will need repairs

The flood damaged the basement where extra stock and invoices are kept. Ms Kaminska-Kotlega estimated that a box of water-damaged embrel for patients with psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis from one of the fridges was worth £1,000 alone. Box files containing prescriptions were also damp and a computer was damaged.

In the neighbouring Brockwell Park Pharmacy, staff were also awaiting loss adjusters from Thames Water to assess the damage. Superintendent pharmacist Chris Arasaretnam said the floods had seeped through the front door, with water levels rising to 2ft in some parts of the shop.

Thames Water said it was working with loss adjusters to begin the insurance process

Boxes of nappies from the front of the shop had been moved to the back by the force of the flood water, which had also flowed into the basement, he said. The dispensary, which is on a higher level, escaped any damage.

Mr Arasaretnam offered the use of his computers to staff at Fourways Pharmacy to enable them to assemble dossette boxes for customers.

Both pharmacies were awaiting the resupply of electricity yesterday (August 8) before they could reopen to customers.

Watch C+D's video report on the south London floods

How would you ensure your patients got their medicine if your pharmacy was hit by a natural disaster? Comment below or email us at [email protected] You can also find C+D on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook