Free taxi scheme for town with no Sunday pharmacy

Eddie Sabir, owner of Leek Link Taxis, will run the free shuttle service from Leek to Biddulph

A pharmacy and taxi firm have teamed up to put on a free shuttle service for patients in Staffordshire struggling to get medication on Sundays.

It will run from Leek, where there are no pharmacies open on Sundays, to nearby Biddulph so people with acute health conditions can have immediate access to medication.

Organised by Leek Link Taxis and Biddulph Late Night Pharmacy, the service will start this weekend at three set times during the day.

Resident Dave Swarbrook told BBC Radio Stoke he came up with the idea after years of being asked which pharmacies were open in Leek on a Sunday.

"I think it's fair to say that we don't have a lot of Biddulph and Leek collaborations so it's a little bit of pioneering," Mr Swarbrook added.

Eddie Sabir, owner of Leek Link Taxis, said he noticed more and more customers over the years were travelling to pharmacies in Biddulph or Stoke-on-Trent on Sundays.

He added: "We thought that maybe we can do something together to get people up there and make it accessible for everybody."

Mr Sabir said people who wanted to use the service need to contact Biddulph Late Night Pharmacy to make a booking.

Muhammad Shuaib, manager of Biddulph Late Night Pharmacy, said he had noticed more people from Leek visiting on Sundays

Muhammad Shuaib, manager at Biddulph Late Night Pharmacy, said he had seen an increase of people from Leek coming to Biddulph on a Sunday.

Most of those, he said, had an acute or emergency problem and a prescription for medication they needed urgently.

"So there's an immediate need for them," Mr Shuaib added. "They can't wait until Monday."

Asked whether Leek needed a pharmacy open on Sundays, he said it would help the community access vital healthcare but questioned whether there was enough funding available.

The free shuttle service will initially run as a trial until the last Sunday in August.

Councillor Martin Rogerson, of Staffordshire County Council, said the authority was currently gathering people's views around healthcare provision and demand.

On the shuttle service, he said: "Although a Sunday dispensary is available at nearby pharmacists or walk-in centres and major injuries units, it is always good to see businesses supporting their local communities."