A NEW dispensing service is to be introduced at Delabole Surgery, following a successful appeal against NHS Commissioning Board’s original decision to refuse outline consent.

There is reason to celebrate in Delabole as Dr Garrod and Partners have successfully appealed NHS Commissioning Board’s decision to refuse outline consent for the provision of dispensary services from the surgery on 46 High Street.

The request for premises approval and to provide dispensary services from Delabole Surgery first came about on August 2, 2018, when Dr Garrod and Partners applied for outline consent to the board, explaining the ‘huge positive impact’ the services would have on the area, and particularly for the large elderly population there. The application also noted the service was much-needed in a rural area with poor transport links, and that surgeries in Boscastle and Port Isaac dispense from their establishments, although the service from Delabole would not infringe on the one-mile radius of other pharmacies.

The surgery would dispense across an area covering approximately 8km2 from Delabole to St Teath, and currently dispenses from its branch at St Breward to around 480 patients. It would operate for four half days a week — 8.30am to 12pm from Monday to Wednesday, and then 3.30pm to 6pm on Thursday.

While the surgery in Port Isaac, St Teath Parish Council and Cornwall Councillor for the area, Dominic Fairman, having no objections to the plans, Boots Pharmacy in Camelford and Bottreaux Surgery in Boscastle had some concerns.

Boots, which dispenses 90% of prescriptions from the practice, noted a potential issue in accessing prescriptions if Delabole Surgery’s dispensary was to be closed. However, in the appeal, the applicant said they do not issue electronic prescriptions, so access to this would not be a problem. Meanwhile, Bottreaux Surgery noted its aim to expand into Delabole with the view of purchasing premises to ‘increase access’ for patients in the area.

The surgery issued questionnaires to its patients, which received 40 responses, with some people claiming they have to travel as far as Bodmin or Wadebridge for the medication. However, the NHS committee were not satisfied that the responses were from patients across the entirety of the area, with this being the dominant reason for the committee’s refusal of outline consent. The committee also claimed the application ‘could prejudice the proper provision of NHS services in the area’.

In a letter dated March 6, the applicant wrote to NHS Resolution outlining his decision to appeal, noting how the need for such services in Delabole had been ‘woefully ignored’. Again, Dr Garrod outlined how important such a service would be for local people in an area where transport links are ‘notoriously poor’, and also touched upon the support from Cllr Fairman and St Teath and Delabole parish councils.

In the appeal, the applicant addressed the committee’s original concerns, including the number of patients from the surgery who had answered consultation questionnaires and the fact Bottreaux Surgery are trying to expand into Delabole, of which the applicant reminded the committee that they had applied several months before the Boscastle surgery.

Overall, the applicant felt the committee’s decision had ‘inconsistent conclusions’, and stated: “Primary care is in a very fragile state currently and the applicant is genuinely staggered that small practices like [this] are not given the support or help, particularly when trying to provide a much needed service in a very rural and poorly serviced area of North Cornwall.”

NHS England has said since the appeal that its original comments were ‘perhaps not the correct approach to take’ when considering the application, and believed outline consent could now be granted for the whole area for which consent was sought.

Following the appeal’s success, Cornwall Councillor for Delabole, Cllr Fairman, said: “Having supported the original application, I was shocked and surprised by the initial decision not to allow Dr Garrod to dispense from his surgery in Delabole, and wrote in support of his appeal.

“The NHS committee had not seemed to take our extreme rurality into account when coming to their original decision. In an area of high deprivation with low government investment in any public services or infrastructure, to conclude that an existing working surgery as unsuitable of this use and so put extra expense on residents seeking to meet their health needs shows a lack of understanding of the issues faced in areas like ours.”

He added: “With little and expensive public transport and household incomes way below the national norms it is difficult to overstate the pressures that decisions like this have on people’s lives and so I am very pleased to see that the appeal was successful and that permission has now been granted.”

Are you a resident of Delabole and pleased to see Delabole Surgery being able to provide a dispensary service? Write to [email protected]