Lloyds Pharmacy has reopened its St Paul’s Square branch in Ramsey, having been closed in recent weeks due to staff shortages.

But customers are being asked to be patient with the staff as many of them are new.

The closure of the facility was a big talking point in Ramsey and many contacted the Isle of Man Examiner about the issue.

Manx Care said it recognised the impact of the closure on staff and patients of the Ramsey group practice, including the increase this has caused to the workload of staff.

The Repeat Prescription Service (RPS), which was previously available at all Lloyds branches in Ramsey, where repeat prescriptions were pre-ordered by Lloyds Pharmacy from a GP surgery on behalf of the patient, will not be available for the foreseeable future.

Until this is available again, patients should make arrangements to re-order their repeat prescriptions from their GP themselves, allowing plenty of time (preferably around a week) to ensure they have sufficient medication.

Patients may wish to use the Patient Access app to order if they have this set up. Instructions on how to set this up can be provided by your GP practice if you provide photo identification.

They can also tick the required items on the repeat request form that comes attached to the prescription, and hand this in to their GP practice.

While Lloyds Pharmacy will no longer be able to manage patients’ Repeat Prescription Service, patients can drop their orders into the pharmacy, and the team will make sure the order goes to their GP practice.

Manx Care will ‘continue to work closely’ with Lloyds Pharmacy and Ramsey Group Practice over the coming weeks to ensure the service continues.