BADGERSWOOD SURGERY A NEW PHARMACY FOR HEADLEY 2007 was a year of great activity at Badgerswood Surgery. We were very sorry to lose Dr Anna Chamberlain who retired from practice to have her first baby. Alfie was born in July and he and Anna are thriving. Prior to Anna leaving the surgery a very unwelcome threat arose which would have heralded the loss of dispensing patients being able to get their medicines from the surgery. This came in the form of a Pharmacy Licence application from a Manchester-based pharmacist who had made applications speculatively up and down the country. Legislation is heavily biased in favour of pharmacists over dispensing doctors, and the existence of a pharmacy in Headley would have forced the close of our dispensary. After taking legal advice and advice from Hampshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), a long fight began for us to try to obtain a pharmacy licence at the Badgerswood Surgery so that a pharmacy could operate from our site rather than elsewhere, thereby keeping the integrated facility which our patients have found so helpful over the years. The PCT provisionally awarded a pharmacy licence so that a pharmacy could be opened at the surgery site but there was an appeal to the NHS litigation appeals unit by the speculative applicant against this decision. Finally the appeals unit decided in our favour and we are very pleased to say that a pharmacy will be opening on the Badgerswood site later in 2008. Dr Rose was delighted to welcome Dr Anthony Leung to join
the partnership of doctors when Anna Chamberlain left. Dr
Leung’s energy, enthusiasm and tireless devotion to the task
of maintaining a dispensing service at Badgerswood has been
enormously appreciated. We hope to start building the new
pharmacy as an extension to the surgery site during the first
half of 2008. |