One of the country’s most innovative pharmaceutical businesses, which featured in the Alantra Pharma Fast 50 Index, an annual ranking of non-listed UK companies in the sector, has been awarded a third pharmacy contract after what it describes as a “seven year long fight with NHS England”.
Gloucestershire-headquartred Badham’s new pharmacy will be located within Cleevelands Medical Centre, Cheltenham, and will open in August 2019. Cleevelands Medical Centre is a purpose built healthcare centre, and an amalgamation of Greyholme and Sevenposts Surgeries which moved there in January of this year.
Compiled by Alantra, the global investment banking and asset management firm, the ranking is based on the revenue growth achieved by privately-owned pharmaceuticals businesses in each of the past two years. The benchmark underlines the strength of the UK’s pharmaceuticals sector, including a diverse range of privately-owned businesses that consistently deliver outstanding growth.
Peter Badham, Managing Director of Badham Pharmacy said: “My father opened our branch at 23 Church Road, Bishops Cleeve exactly 65 years ago to provide pharmacy services to local residents. Since that time Bishops Cleeve has grown from a village into a town, with over 18,000 people estimated to be living in Bishops Cleeve and the surrounding villages by next year.
“The Cleevelands housing development, to the North of Bishops Cleeve, is where the new surgery is located but also has poor public transport. We are delighted to have now been granted permission to offer a range of pharmacy and NHS services from this location to all patients and residents”.
Dr Marson, GP at Cleevelands Medical Centre, attended the NHS England hearing that finally decided the outcome of the pharmacy contract application. At the meeting Dr Marson said: “They had always planned to have a pharmacy on site”.
Councillor Andy Walker from Bishop’s Cleeve Parish Council also attending the NHS England hearing said: “The size and speed of the population increase had put a strain on the infrastructure. Many residents in the town were very elderly… and there are many parking restrictions in place. The general consensus amongst councillors was that it was madness that there was no pharmacy at the medical centre.”
In January, NHS England announced thefunding of 20,000 more staff, including pharmacists, to help GP practices work together as part of a local ‘primary care network’. Malcolm Harrison, Chief Executive of the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA), said: “We welcome this investment in primary care and the recognition of the pharmacy profession in this new model. We would like to see more clarity on how community pharmacies can engage with a new system that should bring benefits to patients and the public.”
Despite tough trading conditions for the pharmacy sector, Badham Pharmacy is well known and respected across Gloucestershire and Bristol.
