LEGAL representatives of the pharmacy providers that are seeking to come to Bodmin have come out swinging in a bid to overturn a refusal for a licencing application to build a new pharmacy in the town.

Banns Pharmacy has been in a long-running battle to open a new outlet in Bodmin, a town which has seen the closure of two pharmacies in recent years with Boots reducing to one outlet on Fore Street and Asda withdrawing their pharmacy operation from their supermarket in the town.

In a letter sent by the lawyers acting on behalf of the company, Rushport Advisory LLP, the operators stated their reasons for wishing to open the new outlet.

They stated: “It is clear from even a basic review of the maps provided, that the west of Bodmin, whilst part of the larger town, has its own services and facilities. When Bodmin had 4 pharmacies, these pharmacies appeared to be able to cope with patient demand.

“Even those who lived to the west of Bodmin were willing to make the journeys required to access services as they could avoid the town centre and the four pharmacies were able to cope with the level of demand they had and provide a good service.

“The closure of the ASDA and Boots pharmacies has focussed pharmacy provision on a tiny part of the very congested town centre. However, it is not simply a matter of physical access to these pharmacies. Many patients report that they are having to wait for prolonged periods of time in a queue before they can even be served, but only then to find out that there is a problem with their prescription that they have not been informed about.

“The fact is that whichever starting point is used (other than the town centre), patients face significant issues accessing pharmacies in Bodmin.”