A Northern Irish community pharmacy chain has donated Christmas gifts to a hospice that offers palliative care services in Derry, the hospice revealed this week (December 9).

Bradley’s Pharmacy has donated Dove and Lynx gift sets to Foyle Hospice ahead of them being given out to patients at the hospice’s annual Christmas party on December 18, it told C+D.

The pharmacy has 22 branches and over 100 staff in the north and west of Northern Ireland, according to its website.

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Bradley’s store manager Alison Gallagher said it is “delighted to be supporting Foyle Hospice this Christmas - it is such a worthwhile cause and we are privileged to help in any way we can”.

The hospice has provided palliative care services for patients with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses in North West NI since 1985, caring for 22,000 patients in its history, it said.

“Thank you to all of the staff at Bradley’s Pharmacy who are making a difference to their local hospice this Christmas,” Foyle’s corporate fundraiser Kathleen Bradley said.

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“This time of year can be difficult for many people so every little gesture makes a difference.

“We are extremely grateful for the terrific support they have shown us, which will help us continue to care for our patients and families,” she added.

NI community pharmacy latest

It comes as the Northern Irish Department of Health (DH) yesterday announced that “an additional £15m” will be invested into community pharmacy and GP pharmacy by April 2027, “subject to additional funding”.

C+D last month reported that Ulster Unionist peer Lord Rogan will lead “a delegation of local pharmacists” to meet with minister Fleur Anderson after pharmacy owners voted in favour of reducing services due to a “lack of government funding”.

In the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) ballot in November, 99% of respondents in Northern Ireland voted yes to “limit [their] services in the interests of patient safety, if adequate funding is not forthcoming”.

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Also last month, the government announced that Northern Irish pharmacies would roll out a sore throat service from December 1 as part of a “winter preparedness plan” following a successful pilot.

And a Northern Irish pharmacist received 180 hours community service for abusing his “position of trust” as he stole pregabalin, diazepam, co-codamol and codeine phosphate from the pharmacy where he worked.

In October, the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) revealed proposals for a fee rise having made a pre-tax loss of almost £200,000, but also revealed it had doubled its president’s pay amid rocketing legal and consultancy fees.