On Friday 11 June 2021, Peter Fox MS visited the Shackletons high street community pharmacy in Abergavenny, Monmouth to see a busy Covid vaccine clinic in full flow and to find out more about the range of services a key anchor business in Abergavenny is offering.
Commenting on the visit, Peter Fox MS said:
“I was absolutely delighted to see first-hand how a community pharmacy in my constituency has become one of the first in Wales to offer a Covid-19 vaccination service. The staff are skilled, eager and ready to support the roll out of the vaccine programme in an accessible location at a convenient time. I was impressed with what I saw and will be asking the Welsh Labour Government to make sure as many community pharmacies as possible are involved in any Covid booster vaccination programme.
“Shackletons is everything a community orientated family business should be: personal, local and rooted in the communities where they operate. The passion of the brothers was really clear, as was their readiness to develop new services to make healthcare accessible to the public.”
Geoff Shackleton said:
“On behalf of the community pharmacy network and Community Pharmacy Wales, Shackletons was absolutely delighted to welcome Peter Fox to visit our flagship store so quickly into his term of office. He showed a real interest and appreciation in the range of services being delivered.
“The last year has been tough for community pharmacists as we have kept our doors fully open while dealing with not only unprecedented levels of demand but also the change in the range of services which the public now want. We have begun to offer PCR testing in conjunction with a local laboratory, as well the Covid vaccine service."
Ian Shackleton said:
“Accessible healthcare on the high street is a key part of what we do as community pharmacists. Peter Fox saw first-hand how adaptable a community pharmacy can be by experiencing first-hand a Covid vaccination clinic. By offering a Covid vaccine service in such an accessible location we have provided an opportunity for many people in Prestatyn to get their Covid jabs in the easiest possible way and we are hopeful that the community pharmacy network will be a key part of the roll out of Covid booster vaccines too.”
