Pharmacist to appeal refusal of plans for new dispensary at Sudbury Community Health Centre

The refusal of a proposed new pharmacy for Sudbury is set to be appealed after its applicant warned that healthcare in the town will suffer unless the current provision is improved.

Primary Care Support England (PCSE) rejected an application to install a new pharmacy within Sudbury Community Health Centre in Church Field Road – which also houses Siam Surgery – earlier this month.

The decision was made on the grounds that there is ‘already a reasonable choice’ of pharmaceutical services in the area.

PCSE also ruled that there was no evidence of ‘people with protected characteristics’ having difficulty accessing them.

However, this was strongly disputed by applicant Zahid Shah, a practicing locum pharmacist in Sudbury, who is ‘massively shocked and disappointed’ in the outcome, and will now lodge an appeal.

Mr Shah insisted that the health body had failed to properly consider the evidence in the application.

This included submissions from concerned patients, and data on the workloads of existing pharmacies.

He cited the latest dispensary figures, which indicated that Sudbury pharmacies give out an average of 13,000 medications per month – almost double the national average of around 6,900.

“We’ve given them scores of testimony from patients, outlining the lack of choice and having difficulty when it comes to accessing pharmaceutical services,” Mr Shah told SuffolkNews.

“The Sudbury pharmacies are dispensing double the national average. If we had another pharmacy, those numbers would come down – it would still be above the average, but it would help.

“We feel they haven’t interpreted the evidence we have provided. They haven’t responded to why the dispensary figures in Sudbury are so much higher.”

The PCSE claimed there was insufficient evidence of people struggling to access pharmaceutical services, because there were no complaints submitted to Suffolk’s Integrated Care Board (ICB).

But, Mr Shah argued it was unreasonable to expect patients to know to contact the ICB, explaining that people would report concerns to their GP or pharmacist as their first port of call.

He added: “I think the situation will deteriorate if things don’t change. People will continue to have services that are inadequate.

“We have numerous testimonies from patients at Siam Surgery. People with disabilities find it difficult because the terrain is not suitable for them, going from the surgery to the pharmacies.

“The same goes for mothers walking with a buggy. There’s obstructions on the pavement, and a lot of traffic on the route between the two premises.

“In summary, healthcare will get worse for the elderly – and the number of elderly people in Sudbury is much higher than it is nationally.

“They will struggle to access pharmaceutical services, as will people with children.

“Overall, the healthcare experience will be a very abrupt one, when it could be synergistic, with outstanding outcomes in a one-stop shop.”

Mr Shah is inviting people who use pharmaceutical services in Sudbury to get in touch with their experiences by emailing zahid.shah4@nhs.net.

He also encouraged anybody who has experienced difficulty accessing the current pharmacies to contact the ICB’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), via suffolkandnortheastessex.icb.nhs.uk/have-your-say/patient-advice-and-liaison-service-pals.