PEOPLE in Wales who are shielding or self-isolating will be able to make sure they get their prescription medicines through a new volunteer delivery scheme.

The scheme - involving the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), Wales's charitable and voluntary sector, and the Royal Mail - will support community pharmacies and dispensing doctors to allocate deliveries to volunteer drivers, where people do not have family, friends or neighbours who can collect their prescriptions for them.

More than 650 community pharmacies, including dozens across Gwent, and 18 dispensing doctors have signed up to the new scheme, with over 400 volunteers already recruited.

Working with the National Pharmacy Association, Pro Delivery Manager - a web-based delivery tracking system developed in Wales to support the deliveries of prescriptions - is being made available to pharmacies, dispensing doctors and volunteers.

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Volunteers have been recruited directly by the Welsh Government, alongside the British Red Cross, and include people from the pharmaceutical industry, optometry practices. Welsh Government employees are also involved.

Each volunteer has been matched to a participating community pharmacy or dispensing doctor to offer additional medicines deliveries. A further recruitment drive will be launched with support from Community Voluntary Councils across Wales.

Royal Mail is set to offer a commercial service delivering items via its ‘Tracked 24’ service. This track and trace delivery service will see postmen and postwomen collecting prescription medicines from local pharmacies and dispensing doctors and delivering to patients the next day.

This service will run Monday-Saturday and pharmacies will be given access to the Royal Mail ‘Click and Drop’ system, enabling them to track prescriptions in the delivery system.

Raj Aggarwal, NPA board member for Wales, said Wales is leading the way with the initiative, which provides "a solution that help brings volunteers into play and maintains patient safety".

Health and social services minister Vaughan Gething said: “Community pharmacies are on the front line in our fight against Covid-19, working extremely hard to ensure people still receive their prescribed medicines.

"The scheme will provide additional capacity for community pharmacies and dispensing doctors to ensure the health and wellbeing of those shielding continues to be supported.

“A huge thank you to everyone involved in supporting these new arrangements and in particular to the volunteers who are playing a vital role within their communities across Wales.”