PROPOSALS for a new pharmacy to come to Bodmin have been met with an unusual objection in the form of the local GP surgery.
The doctors partnership that runs Bosvena Health has told NHS England that it objects to proposals by Banns Pharmacy to open a GP surgery on Queen’s Crescent in Bodmin.
It claims that if it were given an operating licence to run a pharmacy from that location, it would threaten the viability of the as-yet unbuilt plans for a new primary care centre on land near to Chy Trevail in addition to their own dispensary service serving patients in rural areas.
The GP partners also told NHS England that while there had been the closure of two pharmacies in the town in the form of the Boots branch on Bell Lane and the Asda pharmacy on Launceston Road, the remaining two ‘brick and mortar’ pharmacies in the town had increased their workforce to cope with the demand and offer delivery, with a third pharmacy also offering a delivery only service.
To open the proposed pharmacy at Queen’s Crescent, Banns Pharmacy requires both the planning permission to site the ‘temporary’ portacabin type building and a successful ‘pharmacy list’ application where they receive authorisation from NHS England to operate the pharmacy at that location.
It is understood that while it is possible that permission could still be granted by NHS England despite the objections of Bosvena Health and competitor pharmacy Day Lewis if the objections are not deemed substantial enough to refuse permission, the objections of the GP surgery to the plans could make the path to a successful application more difficult.
In their letter to NHS England stating the reasons they object to the proposal, the GP partners behind Bosvena Health said: “We would like to appeal against the Pharmacy list application submitted by Mr Sarbjit Singh on behalf of Bann’s Pharmacy in relation to offering unforeseen benefits. We are a local GP Practice with a dispensing site, and currently provide pharmacy dispensing services to our registered patients within this catchment area.
“We understand that this licence is made on the basis of their being no pharmacy near any of the listed estimated sites, but we would like to highlight that our practice has a confirmed planning application for a new Primary Care Centre at Beacon Technology Park.
“Contained in this approved development is a pharmacy to serve our practice population. We have not to date submitted an application with regard to a pharmacy licence for this site, as final legal transactions for leases are being completed, however any adverse effect on the ability of the practice to secure a pharmacy licence for these premises would ultimately significantly impact the business case for these premises and therefore significantly risk this ‘flagship’ Integrated Care Board supported development for Bodmin. The land included in the Best Estimate from Bann’s is within one mile of the new Primary Centre.
“We note that the application references recent closures of pharmacies at Boots, Bell Lane and Asda on Launceston Road, however both the remaining existing pharmacies: Day Lewis and Boots Fore Street have increased their workforce and offer patient delivery as part of their service. There is also an established remote pharmacy offer through County Pharmacy in Bodmin, again offering home delivery.
“We understand that the application confirms that the new Pharmacy will increase provision of NMS, hypertension case finding, stop smoking, pharmacy first, EHC, and Flu vaccinations however we would question the volume and capacity for these services without a fuller understanding of the likely premises or availability of pharmacists to carry out these services.
“From our perspective we currently offer patient choice of GP provider for those patients living in that area through provision of our General Medical Services contract, and our dispensary income in relation to our rural patients helps to support primary care provision to those registered patients. From a viability point of view, the addition of another pharmacy within our catchment area to the west of Bodmin town centre would further erode our dispensing patient numbers removing eligibility for patients who fall within that catchment area.
“The loss of dispensing patients would significantly impact the already impaired financial status of our dispensary and potentially make this service economically unviable. This would have repercussions specifically for our patients that live in our most rural and deprived areas across Bodmin Moor and would ultimately then endanger the future of our branch surgery at Polyphant of over 1,100 patients registered to receive medication from this site.”
The objection from the GP surgery comes as some of the residents near to the proposed site on Queen’s Crescent continue to write objections to having a pharmacy in their residential area, with the majority of the public comments submitted to the Cornwall Council planning portal comprising of objections with only a few comments in favour.
An amendment to the proposal, notably the inclusion of fencing around the perimeter of the site after concerns raised by Devon and Cornwall Police’s ‘designing out crime’ officer, was heard by Bodmin Town Council’s planning committee, who opted to support the amendment. The council had previously heard from Mr Sarbjit Singh of Banns Pharmacy, who said that the reason for the location was that alternative sites were not available with NHS rules stating that they could not open within a mile of another pharmacy.
Competitor pharmacy Day Lewis has also objected, outlining eight reasons why it believes the application should be refused. It concluded: “ It is well known to the ICB (integrated care board) that the pharmacy closures seen over recent years have resulted from significant shortfalls in pharmacy funding against the backdrop of large increases in costs for operators.
“It is important that those contractors who remain are given every opportunity to ensure the financial stability of their businesses so the pharmaceutical services that exist in Cornwall at present can be maintained. Granting applications for new pharmacies in the county will simply result in further instability for the sector.”
Banns Pharmacy have been approached for comment.