A pharmacy in Rickmansworth has faced “significant extra costs” in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, as it looks back to a year of lockdown.

Dave Pharmacy in Rickmansworth said it had to juggle busier, longer and more stressful days in the wake of the virus and the pandemic.

Over the past year, less attention has been paid to pharmacies and the work they’ve done, considering much of the focus was on the impact to hospitals.

But even when speaking to the Watford Observer early February last year (February 12), Nisha Dave from the pharmacy said the team had to work extra hard to continue constant supplies, as a “massive” demand meant there was only one small pack of surgical face masks left.

Back then, before the public even truly knew the extent the virus would have to everyone’s lives, she noted it was obvious that people were scared.

The pharmacist previously said: “From the first day when it came on the news, people came in and asked for surgical masks and I didn’t really think anything of it.

“Then it just ballooned up from there, until today we’ve had no stock in face masks.

“The demand for hand sanitisers has also gone mad, one man came in the other day and asked for ten!”

A year on, Dave Pharmacy now looks back at all the efforts and changes that were made.

And after all the close work with doctors and others in the healthcare system, Dave Pharmacy says the NHS would not have been able to cope without pharmacists.

The pharmacist said: “After all this, it is frustrating that pharmacies are still having to argue for decent funding. Many pharmacies are running deficits and there is a clear injustice in the way pharmacies have been financially penalised for staying open during the pandemic.

“We have incurred significant extra costs to keep services going over the last 12 months, which have not yet been reimbursed. But we are delighted at the reaction of the public to our efforts. People recognise that pharmacy teams across the country have stepped up and saved lives.”

In March 2020, a survey by the National Pharmacy Association estimated that pharmacies dispensed between a quarter and a third more prescriptions compared with the previous month.

The number of home deliveries requested and provided by pharmacies more than doubled in that time – some reported a 300 per cent increase. Phone calls to pharmacies tripled over that month, with all pharmacies reporting an increase in working hours that often required them to hire locum staff to manage the workload.

Thanking the public, she said: “We would like to thank all those who helped during those months. Even some pharmacies were affected by the virus, however we were the only one in our little patch that did not shut down and continue to remain accessible to the public for normal long working hours.

“Perhaps inevitably, there was a surge in demand for medicines and the public began to worry about shortages. By and large, pharmacies - and the rest of the supply chain - were able to keep the flow of medicines coming.

“It relied on people being responsible and only buying the medicines and supplies that they needed at that moment to treat themselves and their families. We also asked patients who take medicines for a long-term medical condition to order repeat medication in plenty of time, to avoid unnecessary delays.”

Now the pharmacy hopes that those hesitant of vaccinations – particularly in black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities – will look to pharmacists for advice and gain trust in the vaccine.

The pharmacist continued: “A year on and, thanks to the vaccines, there is now light at the end of the tunnel. It has been wonderful to see many pharmacists offer to become involved in the vaccination programme – a must-win battle against the virus.”