October 31 2006
Work has begun at the Mayfield Medical Centre on Pasture Lane in Clayton, Bradford, to include a new pharmacy in the building and additional space for doctors and district nurses based at the practice.
The £350,000 investment is by the owner of the building, Assura Group, and is for a two storey extension which is expected to be completed in March next year.
In the meantime, an Assura Pharmacy has been opened in a temporary modular building in the car park. The extension follows alterations to the existing building completed in September which have provided the Centre with two extra consulting rooms.
The temporary pharmacy is open from 8.30am to 6.00pm, Monday to Friday, and provides a prescription collection and delivery service, advice on minor ailments, stop smoking support, pregnancy testing services and emergency hormonal contraception.
Assura Group, formerly the Medical Property Fund, is one of the UK’s leading investors and developers of primary care premises, including ten medical centres in West Yorkshire.
Its Assura Pharmacy division is opening a network of outlets across the UK, most of them in medical centres where they provide an integrated pharmacy service, working closely with GPs and other NHS professionals to meet the needs of patients in the local community.
This integrated approach is in line with the Government’s recently published strategy – ‘A Vision for Pharmacy in the new NHS’ – and new pharmacy regulations. The Assura Pharmacy will be the Group’s second in West Yorkshire.
As well as providing a pharmacy on the ground floor, Assura is building extra accommodation which can be used as an extra GP consulting room. On the first floor there will be extra space for the district nurses’ office and more storage space.
Commenting on the £350,000 investment, Richard Burrell, chief executive of Assura Group, said: “It is our policy to invest in both new and existing primary care premises to enable GPs and NHS health professionals to deliver the best possible patient care close to the community.
Where appropriate, this includes adding an integrated pharmacy on the premises; we will also invest in additional space now so that the GPs and local primary care trusts can offer patients additional services in the future.”
ENDS.
Press enquiries regarding Assura Group and Assura Pharmacy to:
Andrew McKeon, AJM Public Relations
Tel: 0113 293 9950; Mobile: 07802 484 155
Louise Bathersby, Assura Group.
Tel: 020 7659 6271
