A PHARMACY has welcomed its new owners who aim to reduce the 'workload' for GPs and hospitals by opening up 'more opportunities' for patients to be seen in a pharmacy.
Staveley Pharmacy on 6 Main Street is now being managed by Mohammad Waqas and his brother Khuram who took over the job in April.
The pharmacy was initially set up 40 years ago by John Wood, then taken over by Anothai Chareunsy and is now in its third generation of owners.
Mr Waqas, 30, bought the pharmacy at the age of 29 as it was a 'dream' of his to own a pharmacy in a 'small community'.
"I have always worked in this field and I have been working in a pharmacy since I was 14," he said.
"I thought the next step from being a pharmacist is running my own clinic."
He studied in Wolverhampton and did his foundation training in Manchester. Mr Waqas is based in Bradford - where he drives from every day to Staveley.
"It is a fulfilling role so I do not mind the driving," he explained.
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Recently they have set up the Covid clinic and are soon going to initiate ear syringing treatment.
Staveley Pharmacy 2 pharmacists, 5 assistants and one delivery driver.
Mr Waqas added: "We listen to what the patients want and try to implement it to the best of our abilities. We realised that there is a scope for it. We also do new medication reviews where we ring our patients and see how they are getting on with the medication, so we try to keep a good bond with our patients."
"We are planning to carry on with the service they do already. The main aim is to drive the business forward as well as open up more opportunities for patients to be seen in a pharmacy rather than going to the GP or other booking appointments and wait weeks to be seen.
"We want to reduce the workload for GPs and hospitals and see if they can deal with issues here in the pharmacy instead."
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