Benvico Pharmacy Rx — Uyo's International Pharmacy

It's actually been a while since I visited a pharmacy. It's mostly a chemist store in my locality that I purchase drugs from, as most pharmacies don't cut drugs. They sell it as a whole like that. Let's review one of the pharmacies in my city that gives personal consideration to the local people. Let's look at this critically.

Location and Background

Benvico pharmacy is located at the heart of Ifa Atai, Oron Rd, Uyo. If you're based at Ifa Atai, it's located a few metres before and after the big junction depending on where you're coming from. It was formerly inside the market area of Ifa Atai before the construction of Oron Rd four lanes demolished the place. This is its permanent site now, and if you're coming from Shelter Afrique axis, the place is after Ifa Atai Big Junction before Bentola machine.

If you're coming from Ibiaku Issiet, it is before the big junction. Either way, it points to the pharmacy. It is on the road, which is accessible to any road user. The pharmacy is a laser of an international chain where imported drugs are sold; these drugs have proven effective over time and are barely sold in other pharmacies.

_{picture of the pharmacy}

While it runs on an international chain, it is found in the local community, though people from different estates carry out tests there and purchase drugs at an affordable rate with high quality. The pharmacy has been serving the community for 11 good years. It's a popular pharmacy brand but doesn't have a branch.

Management

The manager and owner of this place goes by the name Mr Victor Ben. For rebranding his pharmacy as a certified pharmacist, he used his two names to create a pharmacy brand with the name BENVICO Just seen how sweet the name rhymes with his own names. As the manager and owner of the place, he has employed different people to run his pharmacy in different sections, which includes The lab, cashier, sales, therapy section, administration of injections and other activities. He just comes around to check if these sectors are working well and the workers are effective and efficient.

Size and Layout

It's large and modern to a certain standard. What I mean by 'large' is in terms of being a bungalow with an extended end. This building accommodates both a lab and the drugs section, where customers make purchases and receive treatment and prescriptions, as the case may be. It has a large parking space that can accommodate at least 6 sizeable cars if parked at the same time. The lab area is not as sizeable as the pharmacy area.

Parking lots	layout of the pharmacy

Talking about sections in the pharmacy, every shelf speaks volumes. Every shelf contains drugs with different purposes and uses. Let's start from the show glass. A pharmacist once said that Malaria drugs are called over-the-counter drugs and are kept inside the show glass, which acts as the counter where customers are prevented from accessing the main shop. This counter contains these drugs because they are everyday drugs people buy.

_{over-the-counter drugs}

These drugs are called anti-malarial drugs. Pain relief drugs are also kept inside the show class because they are needed often by people. That's why they are called over-the-counter drugs. In this pharmacy, the showcase is an important section, and it contains the following...

Show glass for anti-malarial drugs

• Mikatem

• Famter

• Comalart Plus

• Lokmal

• Winart Forte

• Coatal

• Amatem Soft Gel

_{Anti-malarial drugs}

These are some of the malaria drugs sold here. These malaria drugs aren't that common, and they have proven to be effective, though costly.

Second Shelf in the Show glass

This contains typhoid drugs that are actually, on a broad scale, used to treat typhoid and other diseases. Most of the drugs are hypertensive drugs used to suppress hypertension. These drugs include the company name, which is emboldened, while the sub-name is the generic name, which brings about the drug.

Amlodipine	1200 per card	8.7 steems
Safetelmi	650	4.7
Arbitel H	2500 per card	18.1

The third section [Skincare Products]

This third section of the show glass contains skincare products for face and skin that helps remove bacteria and fungi, causing eczema, facial reactions and others. These drugs includes;

Dermazin	6500	47.1
Whitefield's	3500	25.4
Epiderm	2500	18.1
Skigud	900	6.5

_{The counter's skincare products}

The sections of other drugs are arranged in a sequence of right, left and centre. There's only one small shelf by the left if you're entering the shop, a large section of shelf by the right and one at the far end in the center.

Left shelf

This shelf contains pain relief drugs for inflammation and injury, which can be external or internal. These include different kinds of paracetamol like Emzor, M & B paracetamol and Emcap. Some pain relief drugs include;

• Sudrex

• Painkillers

This shelf also contains some antibiotics in liquid and solid form. There's a door by the left shelf which leads to the laboratory.

The right shelf

This is a broad section where different varieties of drugs are contained. There's a section for drugs for babies in terms of treating cough and catarrh. Young lads can also take these drugs, as they are in liquid form. Another section still on the right contains

• suspensions

• saline group

• drips

• blood tonic

• multivitamins in liquid form

• antibiotics and the like.

Cough and catarrh liquid drugs	Suspensions
Blood tonics	Show glass for injections and other first aid kits for wound dressing

Center shelf

Like I earlier described, they have over-the-counter drugs which are mostly kept in the display glass and sold to customers on a daily basis. It's kept in the counter so it can be easily reached. Then prescription drugs or medicines aren't showcased like that. They are kept in drawers or shelves inside the pharmacy. These drugs are drugs doctors give to patients to purchase in a pharmacy. They have herbal medicines which help in cleansing the system from certain infections or causes that may disrupt the normal working of the body.

Pricing and Discounts

In Nigeria, or Uyo to be specific, the use of membership cards or loyalty points isn't that relevant or popular in my area. Discounts aren't really emphasised either, as the prices are fixed and it's more like a closed market. The only discount that can be made is if you want to carry out a test or undergo certain treatments. Discounts can be made available by the manager or lab technician if it's a test.

_{A pictorial representation of their drugs and their price tags}

Medicines are very much affordable in this place, as their place of purchase is different. If you check the prices of anti-malarial drugs in other pharmacies, it can scare you. Why? Because malarial drugs are on the high now.

Quality and Authenticity

The pharmacy actually liaises with trusted companies that have been in existence and new ones that have proven effective, and the quality of their products is tested and trusted. Take for example the known brand called Emzor. In terms of paracetamol and other pain relief drugs, the Emzor company is known to be the best for this. In terms of anti-malarial drugs, the pharmacist liaises with new companies as old ones are out of the market.

_{A picture of their drugs and its trusted brand.}

The expiry date of drugs is kept on serious watch, as this could cost the lives of many if periodic checks aren't done. Aside from shelving, drugs are kept in a warehouse to prevent them from spoiling from direct exposure to sunlight.

They are also arranged in a sequence and contained in a shelf which is dry and runs at normal temperature. Let's look at how they treat patients or offer services in this place. I'll be relating an experience from what I saw when I went to review the place.

Customer Service

In terms of technical situations, the pharmacist is put on call to offer help where the workers or apprentices, probably students doing their internship, can't render help at the moment. The pharmacist is knowledgeable and attends to all situations as if they're his own personal problem. As an influential man in the society, he responds to all customers with humility and treats them with care.

The pharmacy has just one certified pharmacist but has trained his employees on how to offer health advice and counselling while considering the feelings of the patient in question and how he would react to changing situations.

There's this old woman that came to the pharmacy. First, she was offered a seat even though she's old and may not really be financially inclined to cater for her health needs. She was attended to like every other customer and questioned on certain things. Like, I just love the way they treated the woman even when she stated she doesn't have money to purchase certain drugs. They gave her health tips and some drugs she could afford that can suppress her pain as the case may be.

_{A picture of a woman who was treated care}

They have scales for checking weight and injections of different millilitres, depending on the kind of drug to be injected and the age of the person taking the injection. This is a picture of their scales.

_{Their weight scales}

Facilities and Amenities

There are actually various facilities in this place, but the only facilities that could be accessible to me are the following...

• Laboratory: This laboratory is a part of the pharmacy and is a space used to conduct tests of different kinds. Although I couldn't view the laboratory, it had two sections: a section where patients are attended to and advised and another section where tests are carried out which other patients won't see, upholding the confidential information of patients.

_{The laboratory}

• The Patient's ward: This is where patients can lie down, as there's a soft bed for patients with changing circumstances. I couldn't access this ward since I don't have any business to do there; I could snap.

• Counselling room: This counselling room is where the manager or the therapist meets patients one-on-one and offers guidance, gives listening ears to problems and offers solutions as the case may be. Seating areas are available in the laboratory for patients to sit. The parking space is quite spacious and can accommodate a maximum of 6 cars.

• Payments Stand: This payment stand is by the corner of the pharmacy and there's cashier that usually attends to people who wants to do transfers, cash payments, card payments or any other type of payment even in cryptocurrency.

_{payments stand}

Hygiene and Safety

The counter is cleaned with sanitisers on an hourly basis so that other patients who come to lean on the show glass or counter may not contract infection. The shelves are properly organised, as you can see, and it happens to be that the sectioning done is to help locate certain drugs. These drugs aren't mixed to avoid complications.

_{pictures of the shop's interior}

Personal Experience

I prefer this pharmacy because tests are carried out and your test results are printed in days for you. They don't just sell drugs; they offer healthcare like they mean it. So if you're living close to this pharmacy or far from it, it's worth the service rendered, and it's quite affordable as well.

Type of place	Pharmacy
Name of place	Benvico Pharmacy
Manager	Victor Ben
Location	Google Maps
Steem-atlas	[//]:# (!steematlas 4.97968579 lat 7.99043992 long Benvico Pharmacy d3scr)
Address	Ifa Atai Big Junction, Oron Rd. Uyo.
Opening Hour	7:30Am
Closing Hour	10pm
Gate fee	Free
Parking lots	Yes
Website	Not applicable
Steem price for calculation	$0.0919 as of the time of writing [17th October, 2025]