Skegby pharmacy celebrates 10th anniversary milestone

Gilbody Pharmacy, on Mansfield Road, opened on June 21 after owner and founder Justin Gilbody saw that local people were having to travel too far to get to their nearest pharmacy and would welcome having one on their doorstep.

Justin said: “Before we opened, there was no real pharmacy service for an area that did have patient groups who needed certain services.

“We have done our upmost to give the local community a first-class service and we are now an established part of the local community.”

The pharmacy remains an independent and family-run business and currently employs 20 people.

And its success is measured by the fact that it is ranked among the top 100 dispensing pharmacies in the UK

Although he has always lived in Tibshelf, Justin’s family originate from the Stanton Hill and Skegby area, and he is proud to serve the community from which he came.

Justin said: “I always wanted to be a pharmacist from first working as a Saturday lad in nearby Tibshelf at the age of 14.

“Pharmacy services in the Skegby and Stanton Hill area was clearly inadequate ten years ago which was why I decided to open my business here.

“At the time, there was no relationship between the local GPs and existing local pharmacy in a part of Nottinghamshire that had fairly extensive drug misuse issues, high teenage pregnancy rates and issues with crime.

“Opening Gilbody Pharmacy brought new pharmaceutical services to Skegby, allowing the community to access high quality medication advice, free emergency hormonal contraception and drug misuse services.

“The pharmacy also provided a first-class free delivery service and a vital service to many local care homes.

“In the past ten years, we have dispensed in excess of two million prescription items and more than 4,000 flu vaccines.”

More recently, the pharmacy has been a key player in the delivery of healthcare locally during the Covid-19 crisis and, crucially, it has not needed to close at any point, instead providing a full service for every working day throughout the lockdown so far, including every bank holiday.

During this time, the delivery team has taken on approximately 50 per cent more deliveries and have helped people as far away as Holmewood near hesterfield, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, and Rainworth.

Justin himself puts the businesses ongoing success down to the experienced and dedicated team behind it and the loyal customer base it quickly built up at the start and that has remained ever since.

He continued: “Thank you to all our wonderful customers and to the best team around – I could not do any of this without you.”