University of East Anglia (UEA) students will once again have on-campus access to medicine due to a new partnership between the University and an independent pharmacist, thanks to tireless campaigning from your Welfare, Community and Diversity Officer, Nathan Wyatt, as part of his manifesto promise.

The pharmacy, which is open to students, staff and residents in the community, has been taken over by new independent pharmacist Anand Patel and is due to reopen in the autumn after the completion of site refurbishment works.

The opening of the new pharmacy will mean that students, staff and local residents are once again able to easily access medicine on campus, after Boots closed its campus-based pharmacy in July last year. The new pharmacy will be based in the same location as the medical centre on University Drive, at the Bluebell Road entrance to campus, with universal eligibility to register regardless of location or surgery.

Anand said: “I am looking forward to joining the UEA community and establishing a new community pharmacy shop on UEA’s campus, next door to the University Medical Centre. The pharmacy will be universally accessible to all, with car parking right on its doorstep providing easy access to those using disability aids, and the campus has always been an attractive place to visit for peaceful greenspace and recreation.”

All NHS Pharmacy First consultation and advice services will be provided on-site and in-person between the hours of 8.30am and 6pm. Anand continues: “We will be able to offer NHS professional advice and support with common illnesses and health needs alongside drug addiction services, sexual health, and immunisation services. The pharmacy will also be able to provide medication supplies against private and NHS prescriptions, as well as emergency supplies for those in need of urgent help.

“The pharmacy aims to integrate itself within the UEA and local Norwich communities and will have open lines of communication for feedback in store for suggestions on chemists’ goods, health and beauty products and snacks, and services that people would like to see on offer. I look forward to welcoming you all soon to your new pharmacy service.”

Becky Price, Director of Student and Graduate Success at UEA, said: “UEA is so pleased to be sharing this fantastic news for our student and staff community and grateful to everyone who has worked so hard to secure new pharmacy provision on our campus.

“Whilst the pharmacy closure last year was beyond the University’s control, we heard from many students that having a pharmacy on campus is important to them, and about the concern and complications that the closure had caused them. Listening to our students is at the heart of UEA’s student experience, so we have been working hard to do all we can to address this and are so pleased that this need will now be met.”

The pharmacy building has remained vacant since July 2023, in part due to Boots terminating their NHS pharmacy contract for the UEA campus branch before the pharmacy’s ownership could be transferred to new management. This termination meant that Anand Patel had to start from the beginning of the process and apply for a new pharmacy contract, which was submitted to the NHS in October last year and has only recently received approval.

This year, there was also an appeal launched against the pharmacy on campus reopening, which resulted in further delays while the complaint was considered and later overturned by Primary Care Support England (PCSE).
 
Nathan Wyatt, Welfare, Community and Diversity Officer at uea(su), has been one of the vocal supporters for the pharmacy’s reopening. He said: “The opening of a new pharmacy on campus is fantastic news! This wouldn’t have been possible without the tireless efforts of students, who helped to campaign and lobby for its return.

“A special thank you to UEA’s Disabled Students' Community, who provided lengthy written responses that were crucial to the applications approval. The return of the pharmacy will undoubtably make life for all students on campus easier, healthier, and safer.”

Clive Lewis, MP for Norwich South, who has supported and previously called for the pharmacy facility to be reinstated, said: “This will be a huge relief to the UEA and surrounding community, and I'm delighted that this essential service has been restored. It's also fitting that it's come about after campaigns which brought together people both on and off campus.”