- Local Chemist to house two Covid vaccination centres across City Region
- Keeping it local – Davey’s hires local businesses to support car park expansion
- An investment close to £100,000 will be ‘injected’ into the Knowsley pharmacy
- 15 new staff to be recruited and trained-up
- Chemist is an integral hub for the local community
Davey’s Chemist has been successful in their pitch to become a Covid-19 vaccination hub in two of their five sites across the Liverpool City Region, including the Dinas Lane site in Knowsley.
Davey’s Chemist has been at the front of the call to Government to mobilise UK Pharmacies in the fight against Covid-19. All five Davey’s community pharmacies were offered to NHS England as potential vaccination sites. Dinas Lane was chosen as the best to deliver the service locally in Knowsley.
In addition to the Dinas Lane site, managed by John Davey, the family run business will also operate a Covid vaccination centre at their site in Randall Drive in Litherland, run by John’s sister, Mary Davey.
Residents should note that when it’s your turn to receive the vaccine, you’ll be contacted by letter, text or email with information on how to book your appointment.
Davey’s Chemist have been in business in Huyton since 1986 and has become an important local community pharmacy and hub for local residents. In order to ensure the vaccination centres can run smoothly with the additional demand, the team have invested in expanding their Knowsley pharmacy, opening the grounds to make more space. Additional parking, a bike locking station and space for social distancing with covered waiting area is being constructed.
The investment will create 50% extra space within the buildings, new Portakabins for patient waiting area and new staff rest area, to support the wellbeing of staff working extra hours at the vaccination centre. The total investment by Davey’s Chemist will be around £90,000 and is a further commitment to the local community.
This follows on from a Covid testing facility and “fit to fly” testing in a local partnership to deliver certificates 2 hours after sample arriving at the laboratory for customers and business.
John Davey, Director and Founder of Davey’s Chemist, said: “Things have changed since I built the current Dinas Lane pharmacy in 1992, but I am lucky to still have some of the same great staff with me. We are always ready to adapt and find solutions whatever Covid-19 throws at us, or anything else, if it will help our community.”
“This is an investment in all of our futures and a response from a local team for a local need, we live and work here and it will serve people who have been our patients since 1986 when we first started in Huyton. These people have been good to us and supported us, now we are stepping up to support them!”
“We are different, we live and work our business, it is all about Merseyside people and health. This is what we do and patients value that we are always there for consultations, free, local, and without an appointment access to NHS services. Our delivery and outreach team are also helping isolated and housebound customers of all ages, sometimes we are the only people they see and talk to from one week to the next, it makes you think!”
The investment work at the Huyton site will be staying local where possible as John is a long-term supporter of the ‘Knowsley Better Together’ ethos. A ‘very’ local contractor will be supporting the majority of the expansion ground works…
Robbie Worthington, Team Leader for the tarmac contractors said: “I was on this job back in 1992 when John built this centre first time around and it is great to see him continuing to do well and support local people with his services. We live around the corner and me and all my family use the Chemist and we wanted to do a boss job for John, our Chemist.”
John Continued: “Using local Chemists ensures more of the spend stays local. Keeping investment in Knowsley. We are using local trades and suppliers as much as we can and this has been our policy for 10 years going back to our expansion at Manor Farm Road and we have a great network which we value. Local contractors will be used for outside surfacing, flooring, electrics, skip & grab hire to name but a few, and all of the supplies were local too.
Davey’s Chemist will be delivering the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccination in the coming weeks and months and will be recruiting and training new staff in addition to the physical building works.
Other healthcare staff are getting involved from across the region too and further training is ongoing. Many people whom Davey’s have trained in the past are now coming back to participate in this new health initiative. Davey’s believes that everyone will benefit from the extra work that Health and Care colleagues are continuing to deliver to get us through these unparalleled times and out the other side.
Davey’s existing, experienced team are already working up the plans for the vaccination centre and John is working with Knowsley Chamber and Knowsley Works to recruit the new additional staff to support the experienced team. John expects 15 new starters to join the team in the next 3 weeks.
Davey’s currently have 15 fully trained experienced Pharmacists and many more technical staff who know the systems and know many of their local patients. Davey’s in-house training and expertise will be backed up by John Davey, Mary Davey and Ron Gould (former Liverpool Lord Mayor and experienced Pharmacist) who will help to train the new starters to a high standard as quickly as possible.
Ron Gould, commented: “John is a natural born leader something we in the Pharmacy world are short of. As we say in the political world you get one shot at this so make it your best. This is John. Local interest, national run off, all-in-one go, a real pillar of the community and Knowsley Ambassador!”
John concluded: “Years ago Knowsley Council asked for help with flu, we stepped up and helped. This is the same. We live and work here. Knowsley is a great place, I have made it my home and I think the people are warm and friendly, and they appreciate what we do, we look after them. We deliver advice, help or medicines to their home and they look after us too.
Addition Information:
- Davey’s has been a Flu vaccine hub during the winter for many years; a community hub at times providing advice and comfort.
- Local Chemists are now more than ever at the hub of the community and often the first point of call for help and support prior to doctors and hospitals. We are a sanctuary and hub for victims of abuse to protect and get help, especially at this time.
- Davey’s operate five branches. Three in the Knowsley, Huyton area. Two in the Liverpool, Kensington area.
- Davey’s Chemist offer free delivery for all repeat prescriptions dispensed, helping to keep people at home. Prescriptions are hand delivered by a Davey’s local delivery team.
- You can now get two types of Covid-19 testing at Davey’s Chemist. Assisted by trained members of staff with a certificate and rapid results.
- UK Pharmacies are an army of trained people. If every Pharmacy delivered 10 or 12 injections a day that would be 1 million a week.