Last updated 19:50, Thursday, 23 October 2008

A COCKERMOUTH doctors’ surgery is hoping its patients will not lose out if new Government policy goes ahead.

Patients at Derwent House Surgery, on Wakefield Road, can currently have their medicine dispensed on site if they live more than a mile from their nearest pharmacy.

However, a new Government White Paper has said that if the distance between the surgery and nearest pharmacy is less than a mile it will not be able to dispense medicine on site.

But NHS Cumbria, the county’s primary care trust, wants the Government to consider an option which would give the trust the power to take local circumstances into consideration when deciding which GPs are allowed to dispense medicine.

The trust has submitted its proposal to the Government.

Dr David Clarkson, a partner at the surgery, said: “It is good to see that there is the possibility of NHS Cumbria deciding whether we dispense medicine on site.

“They are much more receptive to local needs and so we welcome the possibility of an alternative option.”

The surgery serves around 6,500 patients and about half of those use the on-site dispensary and the doctors say it is a convenient service for patients, especially the elderly and those who live in outlying villages.

They also say it will be a loss to many of the patients if it is taken away.

Dr Clarkson said a petition launched to save the dispensary service had 1,400 signatures.

The surgery also had a visit from Workington MP Tony Cunningham, in July, who talked to patients about how they would be affected if the dispensary had to close.

Dr Clarkson said: “Mr Cunningham was helpful when he visited the dispensary, understood our concerns, answered our questions and offered his support.”