Oxfordshire’s leisure centres have donated £300 worth of PPE equipment to Berinsfield Pharmacy on Fane Drive, Berinsfield.

Better, the charitable social enterprise that operates leisure centres across Oxfordshire, donated shoe covers, face masks, gloves and cleaning chemicals.

Staff from leisure centres in Eynsham, Carterton, Witney, Didcot, Berinsfield, Henley, Wheatley, Wallingford and Thame collated their entire stock for the donation.

The PPE equipment is usually used for cleaning communal areas in the leisure centres.

Better’s partnership manager for West Oxfordshire, John Busby, was alerted to the issue because his sister Annemarie Busby works at the pharmacy.

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All leisure centres in the UK currently closed due to the pandemic, so Better decided to use stocks of equipment that were not being used to good use.

Nicola Shankland, superintendent pharmacist, Berinsfield Pharmacy said to the leisure centre: "Without your thoughtful gesture we would have run out of key pieces equipment by now .The cleaning materials you have also kindly supplied mean that we can thoroughly wipe down all of our working areas before each morning and afternoon shift.

“We are so grateful to you for thinking of us at this difficult time when, as frontline staff, we find ourselves in a high-risk environment where social distancing just isn’t possible.

"Your donation means that we can be a little less anxious about spreading this disease between ourselves or worry about taking it home to our loved ones.”