VOLUNTEERS in Cockermouth are doing their bit to deliver vital medication to patients who are unable to leave their homes.

The team at Castlegate Pharmacy have seen their workload soar in recent days and have been joined by additional drivers who are helping get out the huge number of prescriptions every day.

It's a task that's taken a great deal of organisation but is a service that has become a lifeline for those in need.

Prior to the coronavirus outbreak the pharmacy delivered a third of its prescriptions but this has now risen to more than 90 percent as anyone is eligible.

Rachel Edwards, prescribing support lead, said: "All pharmacies have seen an unprecedented level of workflow. We had two delivery vans on the go. We have now got four vans running 15 hours a day, seven days a week and we've also got a team of about 15 volunteers helping us to meet an unprecedented need."

Ms Edwards is urging everyone to stay at home and wanted to reassure patients their deliveries are coming.

"We have got a big team working to keep you and us safe," she said. "We are trying to operate a policy to deliver everything. It's far safer. No matter what your circumstances are, we want to help with over the counter medicines, acute or repeat prescriptions.

"We would rather deliver everything."

Castlegate and Derwent Surgery and Castlegate Pharmacy have come together with Cockermouth Emergency Response Group (CERG) to ensure everyone is able to get the care and medication they need.

A contingency plan was already in place and the team started to work out their operational strategy about four weeks ago in order to meet demand.

Volunteers include police and firefighters as well as sixth form pupils from Cockermouth School.

The free delivery service covers Cockermouth, the surrounding areas and Maryport.

Clinical pharmacist Diana Popovich said they have never seen such a scale up in the number of prescriptions needing to be delivered. "It has been mad but we have organised the system. At the beginning we had so many. Normally we have three drivers who rotate but they have been working constantly. On Thursday I had 10 drivers."

She continued: "We are trying to do all the acute scripts first - all the antibiotics, inhalers and painkillers to make sure people get them in time.

"We have seen people putting in requests early to make sure. Our items have gone up a lot.

"Even for the care homes, the ones in Cockermouth, most of them end up here for them to get it quicker because we are trying to get them out within about two hours. Usually their preferred chemist would come and collect it but that would delay the procedure. Even before this happened the urgent ones came to us," she said.

CERG has provided two volunteers and put another plea out over the weekend to recruit two more.

Administrator Jo Crozier, who is helping co-ordinate the response, said: "I think the surgery would have been in a lot worse place without the volunteers. They are doing a fantastic job. The enthusiasm they are showing, they are just itching to get going with anything they can do to help."

Ms Edwards added: "Without the volunteers we would still be running four vans, seven days a week but delivery response time would be slower. It's helping get vital and essential medication out faster.

"Our sincere thanks go to all the team at the Castlegate group, to the NHS, the key workers and most importantly everyone who had come forward to volunteer.

"It's not just our pharmacy, it's all pharmacies throughout and its all surgeries and staff that are coming together. We are not just one special unit, we just want to fly the flag of what is being achieved and it's the volunteers that are making such a difference."

All volunteers are screened and checked and follow strict procedures on data protection, GDPR and information governance. They are all trained before working in the community.

Anyone who is interested in volunteering can contact Rachel Edwards at the surgery on 01900705750 or Jo Crozier on 07852599794.