Fury at Inverness pharmacy application chaos
Outraged community leaders have voiced their frustration after plans for a new pharmacy in an Inverness neighbourhood again appeared uncertain following the latest twist of a long-running wrangle.
It follows a successful appeal by Lloyds Pharmacy against a decision to allow James Higgins and Green+ Healthcare to provide general pharmaceutical services in Dalneigh.
The appeal panel, sitting in Edinburgh, ruled that NHS Highland’s pharmacy practices committee had failed to consider the viability of pharmaceutical services provided in the area when determining the application for a new facility at the former post office in Laurel Avenue.
The panel said although another hearing was not necessary, the original committee must meet to consider the issues highlighted and issue a revised decision.
But the appeal decision – after years of calls for such a service in the area – has astounded community leaders and prompted claims that the process is discredited. Inverness Central councillor Richard Laird was incensed by the decision, but is uncertain what will happen next.
"I am sick to the back teeth of this ridiculous convoluted process," he said. "We are just trying to establish a pharmacy in a housing scheme. I have not met a single person who doesn’t want this." He described the decision as utterly baffling.
"I am infuriated that, once again, an attempt to establish a healthcare facility in this community has been stopped by bureaucrats in the NHS," the SNP councillor said.
"The entire application process is dysfunctional, discredited and needs to be ditched".
Inverness West Lib Dem councillor Alex Graham said it was another shocking development in a process which had now lasted 13 months without a conclusion being reached.
"Dalneigh needs a pharmacy, and a pharmacy would be good for the area which has many young families and elderly people who would greatly benefit from a local pharmacy," he said.
"The case for it is overwhelming.
"The process for consideration of pharmacy applications has now been thoroughly discredited by the extraordinary complexity and the length of time this application has taken to consider since it began in March 2015."
He is asking NHS Highland to convene its pharmacy practices committee as soon as possible so that it can consider the matters resulting in the successful appeal, and then to issue a revised decision which he hopes will be a positive one.
A spokesman for NHS Highland was unable to give a date yesterday for re-convening the committee. In issuing the appeal decision, Michael Graham, the panel’s interim chairman, noted that Lloyds Pharmacy had indicated the granting of the application could affect the viability of existing pharmacies in the area and this should be be taken into account.
"Whilst it has to be said that commercial viability is not a relevant consideration, the viability of the provision of pharmaceutical services is," Mr Graham said.
"These issues having been raised, it was incumbent upon the pharmacy practices committee to consider and address them and to give reasons as to why they were not relevant. It has failed to do so."
The full appeal decision can be viewed on NHS Highland’s website.
