The opening of a new location for a Peterborough pharmacy has been welcomed by North West Cambridgeshire MP Sam Carling.

Last month, Clayton Pharmacy officially reopened in its new location at the Herlington Centre in Orton Malborne after being closed for more than three months.

The pharmacy, previously located in Clayton, Orton Goldhay, closed due to a dispute with its landlord over rent in April.

In the meantime, patients had to arrange for their medications to be sent to alternative pharmacies.

Now up and running in its location, Mr Carling has paid a visit to the pharmacy and praised its work and expressed his support for the government’s ‘Pharmacy First’ objectives.

He said: “Over the summer, I had the pleasure of visiting Clayton Pharmacy and touring their new location in the Herlington Centre. It gave us the opportunity to discuss some of the challenges faced by the sector, as well as the opportunities for the future. Local pharmacies are vital community assets, so it's great to see Clayton back open and serving residents. 

“Bringing more NHS care into our communities means making life easier for patients, supporting our hardworking GPs and pharmacists, and helping ensure that hospitals and A&E departments can concentrate on those who need them most.

“That is good news for patients, our local NHS and, most importantly, good news for residents across North West Cambridgeshire.”

The government was announced its intentions to expand the Pharmacy First programme, which allows patients to get medical advice and prescription-only medicines directly from their local pharmacy without needing to make a GP appointment.

Mr Carling will discuss Pharmacy First further in his PT column this week.