Representatives from one of Liverpool city region’s best-known independent pharmacy chains met the Prince of Wales at a reception in London where he thanked them for the pandemic efforts

Representatives from Liverpool city region independent pharmacy chain Davey’s Chemist have met the Prince of Wales at a reception in London.

Prince Charles gave an address praising the efforts of pharmacies across the UK during the COVID-19-pandemic. The Prince praised the “dedication and professionalism of pharmacy” staff and said they had been a “vital source of healthcare advice to millions of people”.

Community pharmacies were among the unsung heroes of the pandemic, providing a critical network of support when much of the NHS became closed off to the public. Later in the pandemic they swung into action to support the vaccine rollout.

John Davey, founder of Davey’s Chemist, which operates six Merseyside outlets, attended the event with his sister Mary Davey, herself a community pharmacist. They both met the Prince of Wales. John said: “He reminded us all of the of the nature an value of community pharmacies.”

The Prince said in his address: “Over this unbelievably harrowing period, you, ladies and gentlemen have kept vulnerable people supplied with medicines, played a key part in the NHS. vaccination programme. You supported testing and have been a vital source of healthcare advice to millions of people.

“As well as your great achievements during that extraordinary time, I really am deeply conscious of your efforts in ordinary times too. For that reason, I very much hope that this evening’s event will help, a little bit, to highlight the marvellous work you do in your communities day in and day out.

“And I know during the pandemic many of you had to stay open until 10 o’clock at night, so you are a remarkable resource if I may say so… it is truly inspiring to know that this gathering includes people from so many of the different backgrounds that make up the pharmacy workforce today.”

Davey’s spent around £100,000 to transform two of its six high street pharmacies in Liverpool city region into COVID vaccination hubs. Speaking to LBN in 2021, John Davey said: “We are an intrinsic part of our communities and the service we provide goes beyond just dispensing medicines.

“All our staff wear badges asking ‘How can we help?’. And what we get through the door every day is a snapshot of people’s lives. They not only talk to us about their health, they tell us about everything else, too. They talk about how they are feeling, about their day to day challenges, the details of their lives. And we do whatever we can to help.”