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Leuchars & Balmullo
A patient perspective of current situation
Balmullo pharmacy application has public support
Alan Kennedy reports
27th of January 2010
In my last article on the Leuchars pharmacy application we were waiting for the appeal to the NAP to be heard on 15th Dec. The decision was finally communicated to Fife NHS and announced on Christmas Eve. The Leuchars medical practice had lost the appeal and the pharmacy application was granted. It has been noted that the NAP Chair refused to admit any protests which had not been made directly to the appellant. This effectively disenfranchised the protests from all the patients in the five local communities, who as instructed by Fife Council had sent all their protests to the Appeal Panel via the latter and makes a mockery of the NHS (Scotland) Reform Act 2004 with regard to public consultation.
It is difficult to describe the shock and anger amongst the five local communities when this decision became known. Having now seen the minutes of the NAP meeting it becomes easier to understand why the decision was both perverse and flawed. Sir Ming Campbell struck the nail on the head when he stated publicly that "the decision might be susceptible to judicial review on the grounds that no reasonable tribunal could have reached it". If nothing else the NAP decision showed without doubt that the current Scottish pharmacy regulations are, as interpreted by the NAP and PPCs too, both wholly undemocratic and completely unfit for purpose. That is something which I, as the initiator of Scottish Parliamentary Petition 1220, will continue to pursue as the petition hearings continue through 2010. The matter was also raised by both SODS and Leuchars Community Councillors at the Annual Review of FIFE NHS on 18th January which Nicola Sturgeon attended. She was reminded that the consultation process on the review of current Pharmacy Regulations had still not commenced. The Scottish Parliamentary Petitions Committee has now called for a government statement on this delay by latest 19th February. The minister was also clearly unaware of the disenfranchised protests at the NAP. That is something that clearly merits ministerial intervention very quickly to bring the Appeal process into a more democratic age before any more communities are made to suffer in this way.
The new Leuchars pharmacy may begin to operate from late spring to early summer this year but another action has given a new twist to the long running saga. An application has been made by Lomond Pharmacy; to set up a pharmacy in a leased area within the Balmullo surgery. If approved and agreed by the practice and all relevant authorities, and there are some hurdles in the way, this could be a positive outcome to what seemed an intractable problem. However it is clear that some contraction of GP services within the Leuchars surgery may still be necessary despite the income to the practice from the lease but details are not yet firmed up. Of course Mr Semple, for the Leuchars pharmacy, has said he will object, stating that the area ‘did not need two pharmacies'. It remains to be seen what the Fife PPC will make of his objection since he went to great pains in the Leuchars NAP hearing to define Balmullo as a different neighbourhood. Something which now appears to have backfired on him in the classic manner of "boot on the other foot" as one newspaper described it. Mr Semple was asked why he was applying for the neighbourhood of Leuchars and not including Balmullo. He is understood to have replied that he was a neighbourhood "purist" and recognised the differences. Something the PPC, and if necessary the NAP, should take note of if he should object to the Balmullo application.
As is right and proper the public have now had their say. At two packed meetings in Leuchars and Balmullo the pharmacy application was openly discussed with the practice doctors, local councillors and most importantly the pharmacy applicant. The involvement of all the interested parties made the outcome pretty unanimous. The Balmullo pharmacy received the overwhelming approval of those attending when a show of hands was called for. These levels of support that are likely to be expected in the wider communities who did not, or were unable to, attend the meeting. Mr Semple, who has refused invitations to attend any meetings of either in the communities or with the Leuchars Community Council, says after winning approval for his Leuchars pharmacy that he seeks to build bridges with the local communities. To build a bridge you need good foundations. Something that Mr Semple has demonstrably failed to do regarding local public feeling.
We all now await the FIFE PPC meeting which will take place on February 18th. The Balmullo pharmacy ,if approved and if no appeal follows , can be up and running without too much delay as early discussions indicate that it faces no major planning obstacles .The proposed pharmacy area, within the Balmullo Surgery which itself is a modern and extensive property, is ideal for its purpose and I anticipate it will be a useful addition to NHS services in the area as well as a profitable business attracting its customer base from not just Balmullo but also Guardbridge and Dairsie communities. Leuchars patients will have the choice of using the Leuchars pharmacy, the existing pharmacies in Tayport , Cupar or St Andrews and the new pharmacy at Balmullo. I suspect they may decide to vote with their feet after what they have been put through over the past 18 months.
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