The creation of a licensed dispensing pharmacy in the south of Stansted Mountfitchet is a step closer to becoming a reality thanks to efforts of Stansted Surgery. Below we are publishing a press release posted to the Stansted Surgery Facebook page that details the background to their successful appeal to NHS England for inclusion on their pharmacy list.
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ โ ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ a๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ถ๐๐
Another dispensing pharmacy in Stansted Mountfitchet coming soon!
In March 2022, the Partners of Stansted Surgery formally approached a specialist solicitor to help us with an application for a dispensing pharmacy licence in Stansted Mountfitchet based on โ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ง๐ช๐ต๐ดโ, at a “๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ” address stipulated in our application, including areas at the bottom of Chapel Hill.
๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐ ๐๐ง ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง?
No one has made an application for a dispensing pharmacy in Stansted Mountfitchet since December 2016. This particular application was refused in January 2018. It was clear to us that residents of Stansted Mountfitchet did not have a reasonable choice in terms of pharmaceutical services, so we decided to give it a go.
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค?
The Partners had to form a Limited Company, as Partnerships cannot apply for a dispensing licence. It is important to note that this application falls completely outside of Stansted Surgery business and is a completely separate venture.
Our formal application was submitted on 11 August 2022. The application was refused by NHS England on 6 January 2023, and we had 30 days to appeal. This initial refusal was expected by us. We formally appealed on 3 February 2023, and on 24 April 2023 we heard that the application would be heard at a hearing. This hearing was held on 13 June 2023.
๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ญ๐ฏ ๐๐๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฏ.
This process was incredibly difficult, and we are extremely grateful to our solicitor who helped us navigate the very complex process, hard to interpret regulations, the many objections to our application, what information actually makes a difference to an application, and the general bureaucracy that comes with anything involving NHS England. He represented the people of Stansted Mountfitchet with passion and fought incredibly hard to get this fantastic outcome.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ฐ?
We have 6 months to find premises in our โbest estimateโ stipulation within our original application, which will require approval by NHS England. After the date of approval of our premises, we have 1 year to open as a fully functional pharmacy. However, we hope to do this as soon as possible.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ญ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฒ?
The premises are owned by Hilton Properties Ltd, and they currently have a tenant in the property. We have written to the current leaseholder to enquire about taking over the lease from them, with a view to open the dispensing pharmacy in that location. If that is not an option, we will find alternative premises.
We have fantastic plans for our new pharmacy and will keep you all updated along the way.
We will post updates on our Facebook page, and surrounding community Facebook pages, and once we have secured premises, will set up a website for the new pharmacy, so you can track updates there too.