The actress Lesley Ash nearly lost her life from an infection with methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. While this infection may not be as serious as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), it can be life- threatening. The following is an edited extract of her speech to the House of Lords (19 January 2006), where she was invited to appear as a guest speaker for the NHS Trust Association.

Your business is not called a community pharmacy for nothing. Every day you have a constant stream of local residents coming into your pharmacy. There are mothers with their babies and young children, there are older people living on their own who eke out their visit as an opportunity to chat with you and your assistants. And what many of these people have in common is their love for their pets.