Residents across Shropshire are being urged to try and reduce the number of emergency calls made to Shropdoc this Christmas by making sure they have ordered any prescriptions for medicine by the end of this week.
Every year Shropdoc receives thousands of calls over the festive period from residents requiring medical assistance.
But, Ian Swindell, superintendent pharmacist for Lunts Pharmacies which has premises in Shrewsbury, Craven Arms and Pontesbury, says a high proportion of these calls are related to people running out of medication and could be avoided if patients planned ahead.
He said: “Running out of important medication during the main Christmas period when many pharmacies are operating reduced hours can cause a lot of stress and worry for people.
“Quite often they don’t know what to do so call Shropdoc for advice.
“The number of these types of calls could be significantly reduced if people planned ahead.
“We have therefore been reminding all our regular customers to make sure they have ordered their prescriptions well in advance of Christmas and we would urge anyone needing extra medication over the festive period to have ordered their prescriptions no later than Wednesday, December 16.
“It normally takes 48 hours for a prescription to be prepared and then we advise a further 48 hours for those patients who have them delivered.
“Because of this we would certainly advise against leaving it to the last minute.”
The majority of pharmacies across Shropshire will mostly be dealing with urgent prescriptions on Christmas Eve and whilst there will be a pharmacy open in most large towns on Christmas Day, operating times will be limited to just a few hours.
Mr Swindell added: “Where possible we would ask people to assist any elderly relatives or friends to make sure they have enough medication or help them reorder if necessary before Wednesday’s deadline.”
Editor is the team behind Love Shrewsbury keeping you up to date with news and events.
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