MMR: Mass Market Retailers, June 22, 2020

The Global Response To COVID 19 to Gauging the Pandemics Impact Around the World A GuoDa Pharmacist Knew It Was Time for Us to Step Forward By Li Hongyu When news of COVID 19 first broke out it had a very strong impact Every day the pharmacy serves 200 to 300 customers at least possibly over 500 when busy At the very early stage no one knew exactly how the virus would spread and how likely it would be to catch it through face to face contact We did worry about ourselves but even more about the store Because if any one of us got infected we would perhaps have had to close the business Despite all the worries I was drawn to the calling of pharmacy professional knowing it was time for us to step forward Staff members worked relentlessly to meet the unusually high workload Due to the rush at the manufacturers and warehouse we had to divide and sub pack items such as face masks at the store Our opening hours are 8 am to 9 pm and we usually take one day off in between But during the epidemic some colleagues were on duty for three days in a row The store manager even kept working at weekends Peoples needs and the difficulties and challenges The No 1 item in shortage throughout the period was face masks We were lucky that we almost always were able to get allocated certain amount of stock big or small thanks to the support of the headquarters office and thanks to being part of the GuoDa network Other popular items included disposable gloves disinfectant and hand sanitizer At a later stage when schools began to reopen demand for childrens face masks surged The biggest challenge was to manage customers expectations particularly when they were understandably stressed panicked and therefore easily agitated or in some cases even desperate We had to serve them with a lot more patience and be very caring even If any one of us got infected we would perhaps have had to close the business if we ourselves were under huge pressure I was so impressed by our store manager One night after work we were on our way back home In the subway she received a phone call from the headquarters office informing her that a batch of face masks arrived but was stocked in a warehouse quite far away With no hesitation she phoned her husband asking him to pick her up from the station and they drove all the way down to the warehouse It took them more than two hours to get there after a long day only in the hope that her store could have some face masks the next morning so that customers who came for the masks wouldnt be disappointed How touching This is not the only touching moment There are many more heart warming stories circulating via social media Sometimes they brought a tear to our eyes Although as a pharmacist I am just a common person compared to doctors and nurses risking their own lives at the front line to save others what I did was almost nothing Still when I was doing my job and was able help customers and patients get the essential items they most urgently needed I do really feel proud of myself and what we have been doing It brought a sense of achievement I was helping The work was meaningful That is the most important thing Solutions the pharmacy was putting into place to help Once the face mask ration began to roll out the communities nearby were heavily relying on us to execute it Either they sent representatives to fetch and distribute the items themselves or in most cases where the local governments were short staffed people came directly to queue at our pharmacy We took extra care to make sure a limited number of people were admitted into the store at any one time To page 14 Boots Is Consistently Adapting to Patient Customer Needs By Marc Donovan This didnt just mean providing medicines and other products but showing care positivity and leadership across the sector all wrapped up in an empathic approach to each community we serve For example over two months I sent six email messages People sought authoritative advice and clarity with health care information and advice to around 23 million customers The huge open rate in one case over 70 shows just how high the need for guidance was among people and that the digital channel was the way to reach them whilst in lockdown I know I will look back in years to come and reflect on certain moments of this unprecedented COVID 19 the disease caused by the novel coronavirus is a global pandemic But not all parts of the world have been affected by the disease at the same time or in the same way And people governments retailers and consumers in different countries have responded with varied strategies some applied more stringently than others In this special section MMR shares stories about some of those responses and how theyve worked out so far I have always considered it a privilege to be the chief pharmacist of Boots in the U K overseeing a team of over 7000 pharmacists and having firsthand understanding of the amazing difference they make in the lives of people across communities in the U K Throughout the coronavirus crisis our teams have constantly adapted to the needs of patients and customers first and foremost through showing their genuine empathy and understanding of the people they serve As the outbreak started to disrupt life in the U K and lockdown measures were introduced people felt uninformed and they were looking for authoritative advice and clarity Our role in Boots as part of only two sections of retail deemed essential supermarkets and pharmacies was to support and care for our patients needs both in our stores and online period One of them was undoubtedly when as a health care company we were asked by the U K government to help to set up a drive through testing program A team was assembled within an hour and four days later the first site was in place At the end of May we had 28 test sites which had delivered well over 300000 tests The team behind such an important initiative has been fantastic and have worked with agility and pace They all know the impact that their efforts have had in the fight against this outbreak As we start to recover from this outbreak and settle into the new normal we know society will never be the same again peoples approach to their own wellness and health will change and the profession of pharmacy and its place in the health care system in the U K will be different too This will allow the further transformation of the community The place of pharmacy in the U K health care system will be different pharmacy sector and the role Boots has in it Throughout the pandemic we have been highlighting on social media the difference that our teams have been making through our prescribekindness campaign raising awareness of the role of pharmacy in the U K I will continue to be proud of the amazing work our pharmacy teams do and I know the public and the teams themselves believe it a little more too Marc Donovan is chief pharmacist of Boots U K MMR June 22 2020 13