Boss of Wigan pharmacy meets Prince of Wales at Covid heroes thank-you event

Rajesh Patel MBE, who runs Hollowood Chemists, met his royal highness at the event at St James’s Palace.

The event recognised the work of pharmacists across the United Kingdom, in the light of their extraordinary contribution to the health of the nation during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last year, a Wigan branch of the pharmacy, located on Mesnes Street, became one of the first community-led sites in Greater Manchester to deliver the Covid-19 vaccine – with more than 170 people visiting the clinic on its first day.

Mr Patel was among nearly two hundred pharmacists invited to the palace for the occasion.

Mr Patel said: “It was great to be in such fantastic surroundings and to hear the Prince of Wales praising the work of pharmacies like mine which have really gone above and beyond during the Covid pandemic.”

In a speech, the Prince of Wales paid tribute to the work of pharmacies on the NHS frontline:

“You are a very familiar fixture in the nation’s high streets and neighbourhoods – something that people have come to rely on and value tremendously over generations.

"As well as providing prompt access to advice and treatment, of course the great thing is you are also a friendly and reassuring presence in our communities.

"A place where science, as it were, meets society.

"As I have said once before, pharmacies are about people and places, not just pills.”