The importance of a pharmacy to a rural community has been emphasised as Belcoo Pharmacy celebrates 20 years in business.

Before the pharmacy's establishment there was no pharmacy to serve the Border village of Belcoo. Now the busy pharmacy serves as a central health hub for the community.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter, Belcoo Pharmacy proprietors Kathy and Joe McAleer said: "Belcoo never had a pharmacy and now it is going from strength to strength. We started on the side street and now we have a unit on the main street. The pharmacy is very much at the heart of the community."

Rural pharmacies serve as the central health point of contact, the nearest GP practice to Belcoo is in Florececourt or else in Enniskillen.

It means that for many, the first place they are seen by a health provider is in the pharmacy.

Kathy added: "It is the central point in the community, people can come here if they aren't feeling well if they want something checked out, if a child isn't feeling well or maybe if someone has fallen on the street, they can come here and see where to go next if they need to."

Emphasising the importance of local services for emergency situations, Kathy added: "People have come in with complaints and the team or Joe has picked it up as the first sign of a stroke or a heart attack and rang an ambulance."

The pharmacy can also serve as an important point of call for people to have conversations around their physical health and mental health. Joe added: "It is a lifeline for people, we have an open door policy and there will always be someone to answer any questions. The pharmacy is there for people."

Joe added: "People might find it easier to talk about mental health in a pharmacy as it can be more relaxed and there is time to talk."

Joe believes that the service provided by pharmacies will expand in the years to come. He cited the expansion of pharmacies delivering flu jabs and coronavirus vaccines as an example.

He added: "More and more services will come to the pharmacy, The GPs will refer over to us for blood pressure if people can't travel and things like that." He added: "I think a lot more minor ailments might come on board."

Joe and Kathy are incredibly grateful to their dedicated staff in the pharmacy. Kathy added: "We have amazing staff who have been there from day one and we are blessed with fantastic staff because for them working in the pharmacy is a vocation, they are a great team."

One of the recent challenges in the pharmacy is the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Kathy said: "The pharmacy and the staff stepped up during the worst of the pandemic. Our staff were worried for their families, whether it be those with young children or those with elderly relatives, but they kept coming in and really kept the doors open for the community and went the extra mile sourcing medication for them."

The pharmacy has also played a philanthropic role in the community with numerous fundraising coffee mornings held over the years for the Alzheimer's Society, a cause close to the heart of the staff. Kathy added: "The events are always a success and bring the whole community together."