Help available to avoid queues at pharmacy

The waiting game - this photo of queues at the pharmacy was taken in the summer when it least the sun was shining

There are concerns many residents - including the elderly and infirm - are having to wait for more than 30 minutes outside Boots Pharmacy.

The pharmacy occupies what one community volunteer described as the ‘smallest building in town’ and social distancing restrictions limit the number of people allowed in at any one time.

Several people contacted the News and one 78-year-old said: “It wasn’t so bad queuing during the summer, but I had to stand out in the cold and sleet last week for almost half an hour.

“I felt more poorly when I got home than when I set out for my medicine,”

The matter was raised at a meeting of the town council last week.

Sarah Buik, a leading member of the Horncastle Community Support Team, urged people to sign up for home deliveries - or ask for prescriptions to be picked up and delivered by volunteers.

Ms Buik said: “There are a range of things that people can do to help themselves.

“The Support Team website gives people the options.

“If people don’t have Internet access, they can contact us by phone and we will do everything we can to help.”

Ms Buik was responding to comments from Coun Alan Lockwood who said he had been approached by many people who had been forced to queue.

He asked Ms Buik: “I wonder if you (the Community Support Team) have had any feedback.

“They (Boots) must be aware of this.

“Are they coming back to you? Are they actually responding to you?”

Ms Buik said: “I haven’t actually spoken to them directly so I would not want to comment.

“I’ve never tried to run a pharmacy - particularly out of the smallest building in Horncastle.

“We are working closely with them and I genuinely don’t know what they can do differently.”

Coun Lockwood added: “This is a huge concern. Boots make a lot of money out of this town and they should provide a better service.”

Mayor Coun Fiona Martin is one of the many volunteers who helps with home deliveries and she backed pharmacy staff, saying they were doing an outstanding job in challenging circumstances.

She urged people to seek help while several councillors suggested people should use the Lincolnshire Co-op pharmacy in the High Street where there is ‘less queuing.’

• Boots were approached for comment, but no response had been received before this newspaper went to press.