March 24, 2014 3.19 pm This story is over 119 months old

New combined GP and Co-op pharmacy opens in Lincoln

Better pharmacy: An old pharmacy in Lincoln city centre has moved into a custom unit within a large health centre.

Patients at a surgery in Lincoln will not have to travel far to pick up prescriptions or get extra advice with a new combined pharmacy.

Lincolnshire Co-op’s Lucy Tower Street pharmacy moved into a new unit inside Newland Health Centre on March 24.

The revamped health centre, which cost £200,000 to complete, will serve the three doctors’ surgeries inside — Brayford Medical Practice, The Witham Practice and City Medical Practice.

The bigger pharmacy can be accessed from Newland or via an entrance from the health centre waiting room.

In addition to the new pharmacy, the new unit has extra rooms and the podiatry centre has also been refurbished.

It has improved waiting and seating areas, two consultation rooms and a bigger dispensary, plus offers healthy living advice and extra services such as NHS medicine use reviews, flu vaccinations, health checks, diabetes screening, malaria prevention and quitting smoking.

The new pharmacy. Photo: Lincolnshire Co-op

The new pharmacy. Photo: Lincolnshire Co-op

Lincolnshire Co-op’s Lucy Tower Pharmacist Tony Hayer said: “The new dispensary is two and a half times bigger which means we can stock more items and provide more support for the growing surgeries in the health centre.

“Forging close links with the surgery and the local community is also great, especially having the through-door from the surgery to the pharmacy which will make it easier for patients and also let them know we are here.”

Brayford Medical Practice Manager Anne Bath said: “The new frontage looks fantastic and the changes internally will enable us to improve the service we can provide.

“Thanks to the additional consulting room we now have, we have been able to take on a third partner and offer another GP to meet the demands of our ever growing list of patients.”