Shanil Singh’s neighbourhood pharmacy is a friendly bustle where masked staff issue muffled hellos and smile with their eyes. A sign at the door instructs customers to use the new sanitising station. Shanil, like many pharmacists around the world, is integral to people’s lives. He is a patient and precise man who dispenses medicine with care and counsels patients on everything from aches and pains to life traumas.
He’s also there for people unable to get to a doctor. His walls are plastered with certificates testament to his ongoing training supplementing a postgraduate qualification in primary health care. Things have never been as busy as during the pandemic. Medical supply lines are still running, but they have been disrupted. Shanil and his colleagues work with brisk efficiency. Well oiled systems give comfort in times of anxiety.
Shanil is encouraging home deliveries but customers still come in. In downtime, pharmacy staff discuss safety and the need to remind customers to be careful and practise social distancing. “We sanitise every three hours,” Shanil says. The scripts go into a box with a germicidal UVC lamp.
The pharmacy is a potential nexus of infection transfer. Rather be super safe than sorry. Shanil, a liver transplant recipient, is probably 100 times more vulnerable than most to infection. “I am not a worrier. It is better to be cautious and confident and try not to make mistakes.”
