Hight Street pharmacy chain, LloydsPharmacy extended its support for the government’s ‘Pharmacy Collect’ service by offering NHS Covid-19 lateral flow devices across its pharmacies in Scotland and Wales.
The service that first went live in England on March 29 is now available UK-wide at 1,296 of the multiple’s 1,400 community pharmacies.
The test provides an additional route to regular testing, making it easier for people without Covid-19 symptoms to access testing twice weekly.
Anna Ruthven, head of services at McKesson UK, parent company of LloydsPharmacy, said, “1 in 3 people with coronavirus don’t have symptoms but can still pass the virus on which is why regular testing is key to us stopping the spread of the virus and breaking the chain of transmission”.
The free lateral flow tests provide a rapid and reliable result within 30 minutes. It is best suitable for people who require a test for work or personal reasons.
“Community pharmacies are highly valued among the public and we hope that by now offering this service to people in Scotland and Wales we can help play an important part in widening access and expanding capacity, providing both protection and reassurance to our customers and patients,” Ruthven said.
Customers can now order and collect a box of seven rapid tests to use at home from 191 LloydsPharmacy stores in Scotland and 81 stores in Wales.
