Go-ahead given for Levenwick and Brae pharmacies

Plans for a pharmacy near the surgery in Scalloway have been knocked back again while similar proposals in Brae and Levenwick have been given the green light.

An application by doctors Paul and Phillipa Veenhuizen, of MelbyHealth Ltd, to open a new pharmacy opposite Scalloway Health Centre has been rejected by the Shetland Pharmacy Practices Committee – a body made up of pharmacists, advisers and lay people.

Currently Scalloway has no pharmacist. However, Norsepharm, a rival to Melby, is on a provisional list for premises in Scalloway. The committee agreed population numbers in the village meant there was little scope for two pharmacies. As a result adequate provision had already been agreed.

In contrast, doctor Paul Scott of Delting Pharm Ltd was given the go-ahead to open a new pharmacy in the the Brae Health Centre. The committee agreed the new service would help meet demand and add to the quality of healthcare for patients in the area. Currently patients in Brae have to travel to Lerwick if they want to access a pharmacy.

Similarly LP Health Ltd, run by doctors Mark Maudsley and Aileen Brown, had applied to open a pharmacy within the Levenwick Health Centre, where there is no existing pharmacy situated in the defined neighbourhood of the South Mainland.

Although the health centre was not situated in a compact neighbourhood, members agreed a pharmacy would add to the choice and quality of healthcare delivered to patients in the area.

Committee chairman Keith Massey said. “Once again, I would like to thank everyone involved in the process. The Pharmacy Practices Committee took a great deal of time and care in reaching the decisions. The members carried out their difficult roles very thoroughly and I appreciate the work they put in.”