Storm Eunice: Pharmacies damaged and delivery vans crushed by falling trees

High winds left thousands of homes left without power, toppled over lorries, and caused widespread disruption to public transport as Storm Eunice ripped across the UK on Friday (February 18).

But despite this havoc, community pharmacies remained open. 

From delivery delays to damaged premises, pharmacists spoke to C+D to share how Storm Eunice affected them.

Deliveries disrupted

A picture of an Alliance Healthcare delivery van with its back end crushed by a fallen tree made the rounds on social media at the end of last week. 

Alliance Healthcare managing director Marie Evans said that the van’s driver was “thankfully… unharmed and is home safely”.

The van was hit in Biggin Hill, Croydon, but there were “no reports of any similar incidents", an Alliance Healthcare spokesperson confirmed to C+D. 

The wholesaler has “processes in place to maintain [its] high standards of health and safety and sustain [its] delivery service to healthcare professionals” during instances of bad weather, Ms Evans said in a statement on Friday. 

However, there was “some service disruption across some of [Alliance Healthcare’s] network” due to the high winds and the ensuing “road closures, access challenges and safety measures within the operation when loading and unloading deliveries”, Ms Evans acknowledged. 

The wholesaler “recognised” that it could not complete all of its deliveries on the day the storm hit, Ms Evans continued, although she assured pharmacies that any missed orders would be completed in the wholesaler’s next scheduled delivery. She thanked customers for their "understanding during these challenging times".

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the wholesaler AAH told C+D today (February 21) that Storm Eunice had also resulted in “some delays” across its network. 

“We’ve alerted all relevant stakeholders and partners, and we’re working hard to fulfill our customers’ orders while ensuring the safety of our colleagues”, they said.

Fallen trees, loose roof tiles and missing pharmacy signage

Delivery delays were not the only problems pharmacy teams faced over the weekend. 

Bedminster Pharmacy in Bristol told C+D that they “had a few roof tiles come loose” during the storm.

“We also expanded our free delivery to cover antibiotics prescriptions” to vulnerable patients who were without their “usual social support”, as well as to parents unable to attend the pharmacy due to school closures, the team said.

The team at The Blackbrook Pharmacy in Taunton, Somerset arrived at work early on Friday “to try and get ahead of the storm”, pharmacy manager Jonathan Wood told C+D. 

“The weather was very treacherous during the day, with numerous hazards and fallen trees on the roads, as you would expect. We advised our patients to avoid travelling in to see us but [to] phone us if they had any urgent questions,” he added. 

Once the weather had “marginally” improved, the team “set off to deliver a number of emergency prescriptions, which they were able to do safely”, he said. 

Meanwhile, Malpas Pharmacy - a Newport-based independent - took to Twitter to show how Storm Eunice had swept away their signage. 

Ali Sparkes, the director of happiness and technology at The Health Dispensary in Neath, South Wales also tweeted that her team had experienced low staff numbers and the strong winds meant they had had to implement a "knock-and-enter policy" at the front door. 

How has the recent adverse weather affected you and your pharmacy? Share your experiences on the C+D Community