A Dublin Pharmacist, who pioneered free home delivery services for vulnerable customers has expanded his service to meet the growing demand presented by the Coronavirus pandemic
Edward Mac Manus, who runs two busy Pharmacies in Ballymun has been operating a free medicine delivery service to customers in Ballymun and surrounding areas for the past five years.
He has invested in a dedicated van to ensure that medicines, some of which are extremely expensive hi- tech drugs, are maintained at the optimum temperature from Pharmacy to patient.
He is now increasing the operating hours of his service as well as opening it up to a wider geographical area, such is the demand from people who are self isolating in response to Government recommendations.
Edward MacManus says ‘We identified a need for a free medicine home delivery service five years ago and have been providing a complete service to Ballymun and the surrounding areas, primarily to older and incapacitated customers. The service started as a response to the difficulty of patients accessing medication in the old Ballymun Shopping Centre which was derelict and the scene of much anti-social activity. Patients were not comfortable carrying medication and felt quite vulnerable. They also had difficulty bringing bulky packages home on public transport.
‘The onset of the Coronavirus has seen a huge increase in demand for our home delivery service from people over 70 and others who are self -isolating, so we are now expanding it to try and facilitate as many people as possible”.
“Over the last month we have identified the over 70 (years) patients through our pharmacy computer system who the Government wants to cocoon. We are providing the service to most of them’.
‘We have a dedicated driver, Pat Ryan, who is a regular feature in these patients lives. Many of our patients are on refrigerated items such as insulins and extremely expensive hi-tech drugs that must be maintained at fridge temperature from pharmacy to patient. It is essential that proper procedures are in place to deal with these issues’.
Edward MacManus Pharmacies are located at Unit 2A Alliance Row , Ballymun , D9 :Telephone 01 8428006 and at the Civic Centre, Ballymun, D9
