I thought it would be interesting to have a look around at what impact the Olympics will have on the world of pharmacy.
The Olympic pharmacy services will provide a service to around 200,000 including athletes, officials, press and support teams during the olympics and paralympics. Quite a feat! The figures are incredible:
There will be approximately 17,000 people residing in the Olympic and Paralympic Village in London. Each of the pharmacies will dispense prescriptions written by local UK doctors and for over 1000 visiting team doctors from 205 different countries for the Olympic Games and a smaller number for the Paralympic Games. In addition to catering to the specialist medicine requirements of elite athletes, the pharmacy staff will be involved in providing information to athletes about drugs restricted in sport, with a comprehensive specialist medicines information service provided for the Games.
There are about 100 pharmacist volunteers manning the pharmacies at the Olympic villages. David Mottram is blogging about his experiences at as volunteer. He seems to be surprised at how often he needs to replenish the stock of free condoms!
My community pharmacy colleagues in London have been advised by the National Pharmacy Association to make the most of the Olympics by considering extending their opening hours and upskilling their knowledge on sports medicine. There will inevitably be disruption to "normal Service" and deliveries may be out of hours, but I am certain my colleagues in London will innovate and get through this very special time.
All the learning from London 2012 will be great for Scotland when we host the commonwealth games in Glasgow in 2014, but for now it is all eyes on London.
Come on Team GB! Do us proud!!!
That's really interesting. You don't think of the impact on industries such as yours. Have a lovely time.
ReplyDeleteI think there will be an impact on everyone and all businesses in London, but there will also be huge opportunities too. Thanks for the comment
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