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Patricia Hewitt
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Not in our back yard, says health minister’s hubby
He objects to drug treatment late chemist
HEALTH Secretary Patricia Hewitt has been drawn into a row over plans for a new 100-hours-a-week chemist in Camden Town, which will dispense syringes, after her husband raised an objection.
William Birtles, a senior crown court judge, has written to the Camden Primary Care Trust in protest at chain chemist ABC Pharmacy’s plans for a new shop near the overground station in Camden Road.
The letter stated: “I write to oppose the opening of the new pharmacy at NW1. We have a serious drug problem throughout Camden which is well-known by the local police. We have got dealing at the end of my road. I don’t feel it’s appropriate for a local pharmacy to do that (provide a needle exchange).”
The objection is potentially embarrassing for Ms Hewitt, as 100-hour pharmacies were part of policies she introduced during her time as Trade and Industry Minister.
The couple live in nearby Rochester Square, a short walk from where the new chemist will open if approved by health bosses.
The New Journal revealed three years ago how Ms Hewitt and Mr Birtles’s home was in a neighbourhood stained by drug activity with dealers often pushed into residential streets by police crackdowns in the heart of Camden Town.
Also in his letter, Mr Birtles said that the 100-hours policy was “something that needs to be looked at”.
Under Trust rules, a new chemist cannot open in Camden Town unless it uses a special 100-hours application and provides ‘enhanced’ services.
Jagdish Vaghela and his wife Hansila, who run the Biotech Chemist in Camden Road, could face stiff competition from the new pharmacy as it would be located between their shop and the health centre in Bartholomew Road, Kentish Town.
The services are expected to move to Camden Road during the centre’s refurbishment but patients could still be sidetracked by the new chemist, which would open in an old carpet shop.
Mr Vaghela said the 100-hours system was allowing big businesses to bypass the rules and crowd out neighbourhood pharmacies. The new service would be bound by contract rules to stay open for 100 hours a week.
Mr Vaghela said: “They will eat up the business – they can make a loss while they are doing it because they are a multiple.”
He added: “The PCT has received lots of objections.”
Hansila Vaghela added: “People have got sidetracked. The issue is about what the community in Camden want. They don’t want a 100-hours chemist and needle service.”
ABC Pharmacy director Nicholas Bilby has not responded to calls from the New Journal, but trade magazine Chemist + Druggist has reported that the applicants felt they had to apply under the 100-hours system to meet patient demand.
Camden PCT said it was handling the application. A spokesman said: “Enhanced services may include smoking cessation, supervised methadone, needle exchange, minor ailment, for example, and may be considered as part of the application.”
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