PHARMACY PRACTICES COMMITTEE Meeting held on 3 September 2014 Room 004, Pentland House, 47 Robb’s Loan, Edinburgh, EH14 1TY Application by The Elixir Pharmacy Group for inclusion in the pharmaceutical list in respect of the address at 55 Muirhouse Gardens, Edinburgh, EH4 4TD. The Pharmacy Practices Committee met at 1pm on Wednesday 3 September 2014 to consider the above application in accordance with the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2009, as amended. Decision of the Pharmacy Practices Committee The decision of the Committee was that the provision of pharmaceutical services at the premises was neither necessary nor desirable in order to secure adequate provision of pharmaceutical services in the neighbourhood in which the premises were located by persons whose names are included in the pharmaceutical list and that accordingly the application should not be granted. Pharmacy Practices Committee Peter Johnston (Chair) Peter Jones (Non- Contractor Pharmacist) Mike Embrey (Contractor Pharmacist) Alan Glauch (Contractor Pharmacist) Ian Melville (Lay Member) Stewart Daniels (Lay Member) Catherine Anderton (Lay Member) In Attendance Yaseen Yousaf (The Elixir Pharmacy Group, Applicant) Imran Hussain (The Elixir Pharmacy Group, Applicant Support) Yvonne Williams (Lindsay & Gilmour Pharmacy, Interested Party) Philip Galt (Lindsay & Gilmour Pharmacy, Interested Party Support) Tom Arnott (Lloyds Pharmacy, Interested Party) Charles Tait (Boots UK Ltd, Interested Party) Barrie Dear (Dears Pharmacy, Interested Party) Katie Kerr (Administrator, NHS Lothian) Veronique Athukorala (Administrator, NHS Lothian) 1 Application for Inclusion in Board’s Pharmaceutical List 1. The Committee convened to consider an application submitted by The Elixir Pharmacy Group to provide general pharmaceutical services from premises situated at 55 Muirhouse Gardens, Edinburgh, EH4 4TD under Regulation 5(10) of the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 as amended. A copy of the application had been circulated in advance to the Committee and the parties. 2. The Committee had to determine whether the granting of the application was necessary or desirable to secure the adequate provision of pharmaceutical services in the neighbourhood in which the Applicant’s proposed premises were located. 3. Written representations had been received from Lothian Area Pharmaceutical Committee; Dears Pharmacy; Lloyds Pharmacy; Boots Pharmacy and Lindsay & Gilmour Pharmacy (Interested Parties). Copies of the written representations had been circulated in advance to the Committee and the Interested Parties. 4. The Committee had before them maps of the area surrounding the proposed premises detailing the location of the nearest pharmacies and GP surgeries, deprivation categories and population density. They had details of the numbers of prescriptions dispensed during the months September 2013 – February 2014 by the pharmacies nearest to the proposed premises and the number of prescriptions they dispensed that were issued from the GP surgeries closest to the premises during the months January 2014 to March 2014. The Committee were also provided with “Pharmacy Profiles” of the nearest pharmacies detailing opening hours, premises facilities and services offered. 5. The hearing was convened under paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 3 to the National Health Services (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 as amended (“the Regulations”). In terms of this paragraph, the PPC “shall determine an application in such a manner as it thinks fit”. In terms of Regulation 5(10) of the Regulations, the question for the PPC is whether “the provision of pharmaceutical services at the premises named in the application is necessary or desirable to secure adequate provision of pharmaceutical service in the neighbourhood in which the premises are located by person whose names are included in the Pharmaceutical List.” 6. Prior to the meeting the Committee undertook a site visit. The Committee noted the location of the proposed premises, the pharmacies nearest to the proposed premises, the nearest GP surgeries and the neighbourhood as defined by the Applicant. 7. It had been confirmed prior to the meeting that the members present did not have an interest to declare. 8. The Committee agreed to invite the Applicant and those who were present who had made representations, (Interested Parties), to attend before them. The Applicant was represented in person by Yaseen Yousaf, assisted by Imran Hussain. The Interested Parties who had submitted written representations during the consultation period and who had chosen to attend the hearing were Ms Yvonne Williams and Mr Philip Galt (Lindsay & Gilmour Pharmacy); Tom Arnott (Lloyds Pharmacy); Charles Tait (Boots UK Ltd) and Barrie Dear (Dears Pharmacy). 9. The Chair asked the Applicant and Interested Parties to confirm that they were not attending the Committee in the capacity of solicitor, counsel or paid advocate. They confirmed that they were not. 2 10. The Chair explained the procedure that would be followed and no person present objected. 11. The procedure adopted by the Committee was that the Applicant made an opening submission to the Committee, which was followed by an opportunity for the Interested Parties and the Committee to ask questions. The Interested Parties would then make their submissions. After each submission, there followed the opportunity for the Applicant and PPC to ask questions of the Interested Parties. The Applicant and Interested Parties were then given an opportunity to sum up. Before the parties left the meeting the Chair asked all parties if they felt that they had had a fair and full hearing. They confirmed that they had. 12. The Committee was required to and did take into account of all relevant factors concerning the issues of neighbourhood, adequacy of existing pharmaceutical services in the neighbourhood and whether the provision of pharmaceutical services at the premises named in the application was necessary or desirable to secure adequate provision of pharmaceutical services in the neighbourhood in which the premises are located. The Applicant’s Case 13. The Applicant thanked members of the Committee for the opportunity to put forward his application for inclusion in the pharmaceutical list. 14. The Applicant began by giving a synopsis of the area and its surroundings. The Applicant stated that Muirhouse is a large public housing estate on the north-west edge of Edinburgh. It is west of Granton and the housing estates of East Pilton and West Pilton and East of Davidsons Mains. It is bounded to the south by Ferry Road and to the East by Pennywell Road. The area is bordered by major roads on three sides and a private housing development on its western edge. 15. The Applicant stated that Muirhouse, together with the neighbouring West Pilton, have been undergoing significant renewal with council owned blocks being replaced by private housing. Despite this major regeneration activity, including demolition and refurbishment of properties, it continues to be comparatively deprived in relation to both Edinburgh and Scotland. The estate is one of the worst areas of multiple deprivation and continues to experience poor housing, high levels of unemployment, and related significant social problems. 16. The Applicant stated that the local population also have a variety of barriers to employment ranging from low skills, physical disability, mental health issues and problems with substance abuse. The area suffers unemployment rates of more than three times the average for Edinburgh, with a larger proportion of long-term unemployment. 17. The Applicant stated that his neighbourhood is that of Muirhouse and can be defined as follows: 18. North – Muirhouse Parkway (at the Muirhouse Gardens Junction) heading East along the dual carriage to the roundabout Pennywell Road (including Salvesen area). 19. East – Pennywell Road (roundabout) heading south along dual carriage to Ferry Road (B9085) 20. South – Ferry Road heading west to Ferry Road/Ferry Gait Drive junction (including the Ferry Gait Development) 21. West – Ferry Gait Drive, Muirhouse Park Junction walking along grassed area to cut between Silverknowes Brae and Craigroyston Grove, following onto new development of Silverknowes 3 Eastway (Old Silverknowes Primary School) following onto Muirhouse Gardens to connect with Muirhouse Parkway. 22. The Applicant referred to Lord Nimmo Smith’s opinion of a neighbourhood and stated that the neighbourhood of Muirhouse can be seen as a neighbourhood for all intents and purposes. It has its own facilities and amenities: Craigroyston Community High School, Primary School, Muirhouse Parish Church, Library, a number of community based projects, Muirhouse Millennium Centre, Convenience stores, post office and fast food outlet. 23. The Applicant stated that existing services to the neighbourhood are provided by pharmacies currently outwith the neighbourhood. The Applicant stated that this is the not the crux of his argument, to suggest that the absence of a community pharmacy in a neighbourhood is sufficient grounds in itself to grant an application. If there is no pharmacy in a neighbourhood, however, there are a number of factors which should be taken into consideration when determining whether pharmaceutical services outwith a neighbourhood are adequate: population size, demographics of the population, routine daily behaviour of the population, ease of access to the existing