Merin Shibu

MediCare Pharmacy Group (NI)

MediCare operates 53 busy high volume retail pharmacies which are located in some of the most socially deprived areas of Northern Ireland. Employing over over 700 staff, including 90 pharmacists, MediCare is the biggest indigenous pharmacy group in Northern Ireland. Our head office and distribution centre, comprising of over 60,000sq ft of warehousing, is located at Montgomery Road in Belfast. Our strap line "Caring for your Health" expresses very well our business ethos as our objective has always been to deliver to patients and customers the services and medicines they require in the most efficient and effective manner possible. We pride ourselves on the level of service we deliver and continue to deliver in the healthcare arena. The core competencies of efficient dispensing within a safe and regulated environment are always a priority and we have managed to develop these services by listening to what our patients' current needs are whilst monitoring developments at Department of Health level to plan, prepare and adapt if necessary for future requirements and services. In recent years we have been involved in initiatives such as Pharmacist Independent Prescribing. Consultation services such as smoking cessation, weight management and diabetic screening have also been a success within health promotion and were received very well by our patients and colleagues within the primary care setting. MediCare currently supplies in excess of 40 nursing homes across Northern Ireland and as a result has significant expertise in this environment. Through our strategy of training staff and presenting our pharmacies in key locations to the highest standards, we are looking forward to the MediCare Pharmacy Group playing a leading role in the pharmaceutical profession to meet the challenges of working in the new multidisciplinary setting.