Saints Foundation, the charitable arm of Premier League football club Southampton, has teamed up with local partners to launch a 'prescription delivery scheme' aimed at supporting some of the most vulnerable people in the city.
The Foundation has joined forces with Southampton City Council and Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). Its staff will work with pharmacies to co-ordinate the service, as well as delivering prescriptions to the homes of those who are self-isolating as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The service has been launched as part of Southampton’s Community Response team effort to support those people who are unable to obtain their medication by any other means, including via existing delivery services offered by individual pharmacies, as well as family and friends, and will remain operational for as long as it is deemed necessary.
CHALLENGING
Greg Baker, Head of Saints Foundation, is pleased his organisation will be able to aid the community during these uncertain times.
He explained: "Since we were forced to postpone delivery on our normal timetable of activity two weeks ago, we have worked with our partners to come up with a number of new ways to offer support to people of all ages across the city.
"This prescription delivery service is another example of one of those initiatives, which we really hope will support those who most need our help at this really challenging time."
The initial plan for the scheme is to work directly with pharmacies and GPs to identify and support those that they deem in most need. Further to this a helpline number, which will be launched for members of the public to call - details of which will follow in due course.
CO-ORDINATED
Dr Mark Kelsey, Clinical Chair of NHS Southampton City CCG, said: “This is an essential scheme for people who are shielding or in a vulnerable group, and I would like to thank everyone involved in setting it up so quickly. We are also hugely grateful to those staffing and supporting pharmacies across the city during this time.”
The scheme is part of a cross partnership and co-ordinated effort to ensure those most in need receive help quickly.
As part of its #SaintsAsOne initiative, the Foundation has also been working with the charity FareShare to cook and deliver meals to vulnerable people during the pandemic.
To find out more about Saints Foundation, visit its page on the ConnectSport directory. To add your organisation for free, email hello@connectsport.co.uk.
