If you live outside of the parish of Perranzabuloe, read on!
This is to let you know that you can now get your medication dispensed directly from the surgery. What does this mean? Basically, that instead of your prescription going to a chemist, it can be kept in the surgery and your medication dispensed from the surgery itself. We believe that this is an exciting development for the surgery that will have positive benefits for patients and the community as a whole.
Why is the surgery now able to dispense medication?
For many years prior to moving to our new premises, the surgery was legally able to dispense medication. It chose not to for a number of reasons -the main reason being that the old surgery simply did not have enough room. For many years there were two independent chemists in Perranporth. These were bought by a retail pharmacist, Christopher Taylor in the 1990s who decided to develop new premises. At that time the surgery was also looking for new premises and entered into an agreement with Christopher Taylor to develop the building that we now occupy. As part of that agreement it was agreed that the surgery would not dispense medication for a period of 10 years. That period of time has now elapsed. We applied to dispense medication in 2006 and eventually our application was granted by the relevant government body having taken into account all of the local circumstances and objections.
Why should I change to have my medication dispensed at the surgery?
We believe that despite the fact that your current level of service from our local chemist is very good, we can not only match it but that enabling us to dispense your medication will provide benefits not only to the surgery but to you as patients. We will be able to run a number of different services from our dispensary, including our repeat medication management which should mean less appointments throughout the year for routine medication reviews. By giving us your business we will be to continue to invest in the surgery, both in terms of our building and our personnel. This should enable us to continue to provide a high-quality primary-care service for Perranporth and the surrounding districts.
My medication is normally delivered. Will this change?
The simple answer to this is no. We will be making deliveries three times a week to Cubert and St Newlyn East on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. We will be delivering to Cargy Stores in Cubert and Crossways General Stores (Spar shop) in St Newlyn East. We will also be delivering to Zelah.
What about the chemist?
Unlike chemist shops, we cannot sell goods or other items that you would normally find in a pharmacy. We can only dispense prescribed medication. A large element of income for retail pharmacies is through their general retail trade. This will not be affected by our dispensary. We have always had a good relationship with our local pharmacists and we will continue to work closely with them for all of our patients. We do not see our dispensary as a threat to their pharmaceutical services and we believe and hope that our service will be seen as complimentary to theirs. Historically, prior to 1996 there were two retail pharmacies in Perranporth. Now there is one retail pharmacy (next door to the surgery, owned by Alliance-Boots) and a dispensary in the surgery.
What do I do now?
If you would like us to dispense your medication you will need to complete the a form enabling us to dispense to you. Of course you do not have to do anything at the moment if you do not wish to change your current arrangements. However, we would like you to consider the matter – you can elect to have your medication dispensed by us at any time. You will however need to complete a form before we are allowed to do this. We would be happy to answer any questions either on the telephone, by letter or via e-mail. Our dispenser Pam Grant would be also happy to discuss any dispensing related matters with you.