Following the closure of Lloyds pharmacy in Biggleswade Sainsburys, and concerns about availability of pharmacy services in Biggleswade, Richard wrote to Bedfordshire Integrated Care Board, which commissions local health services and recently visited Jardines Pharmacy.
Richard met with Jardines CEO, Mr Modi, and with Becks of the Biggleswade branch who informed Richard that Jardines will at the end of Sptember be introducing 24/7 prescription collection which will allow customers to be notified when their prescriptions are available and then to collect them from an automated dispenser at any time of day or night. Whilst this will not be appropriate for everyone, it will certainly add flexibility and convenience for many.
Following the visit, Richard Fuller MP recorded the following video message and said:
I have had a great deal of correspondence and there has been a lot of concern expressed about the ability of patients to source prescription medicines in Biggleswade since the recent closure of Lloyds in Sainsbury's. After some initial upheaval the situation seems to have settled down now to a large extent, and there hasn't been a recurrence of the queueing that was in evidence immediately following the closure.
Jardines has 40 pharmacies across Luton, Milton Keynes and Bedfordshire and therefore have a lot of experience. They acknowledged there was a lot of pressure earlier in the year but they said, and it was obvious from my visit, that that pressure has abated and they have a good handle on it, in my view.
I was pleased to see they are introducing an option for residents to get prescriptions out of hours which will help time pressures even more. I will continue to monitor issues related to other pharmacies in the area such as Boots and I will keep a watch on pharmacy provision in Biggleswade.
