Firefighters have begun assisting a Royal Derby Hospital (RDH) based pharmacy with the delivery of urgent prescriptions to patients at home as part of the work taking place to support the community response to Covid-19.
This support was requested by the pharmacy company, and working with Derbyshire County Council, the Local Resilience Forum (LRF) and the Fire Brigade Union (FBU), an agreement was put in place for the Service to fulfil their request.
Councillor Kevin Buttery, Chair of Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Authority said: “This Initiative is the latest addition to the work the Service is undertaking to support the community response to Covid-19, showing we are Ready, Willing and Able to support our communities and partners whilst still providing an effective emergency response.
“The Service has adapted quickly delivering over 8160 prescriptions to vulnerable people across Derbyshire on behalf of pharmacies, Chesterfield Royal Hospital and now the additional service on behalf of the Royal Derby Hospital. We have also partnered with East Midlands Ambulance Service, providing 12 operational employees who have been trained and are ready to assist with rapid response driving should they be needed and Firefighters ready to deliver vital equipment for medical trials on behalf of The Clinical Research Network East Midlands. Alongside our operational colleagues we also have members of our support staff taking part in a telephone befriending service, making weekly telephone calls to vulnerable people who may be experiencing loneliness.
“I’m really proud of the work being undertaken by the Service. Not since wartime have communities had to pull together in such a way and all of the work taking place by all of the agencies working to respond to the pandemic, really does underline that we are all Making Derbyshire Safer Together.”
Leader of Derbyshire County Council, Councillor Barry Lewis, said: “Our Community Response Unit has fulfilled around 2,900 requests for help from Derbyshire residents who are in need and without friends or family to help deliver food, prescriptions or even just have a chat on the phone to help combat loneliness.
“Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service has shown true Derbyshire Spirit as a key player helping to fulfil these requests by picking up prescription medication from more than 50 pharmacies across the county and delivering it to those who need it most.
“Widening out the scheme to include hospitals is a great addition to the work we are already doing to help even more people get essential help at this difficult time.”
Matthew Prior, Superintendent Pharmacist said: “We are delighted to announce this new partnership with Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service. This will allow hundreds more patients across Derbyshire to have their critical medication delivered directly to them whilst they are shielding or isolating at home.
“We are grateful for the support of Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service in helping maintain the supply of important medicines to our vulnerable patients during the pandemic.”