A NEW pharmacy, which has opened in St Julians will be a life-line for people living in the Newport ward.

Mayberry Pharmacy has moved to the new branch on Durham Road to provide the thousands of patients that use the St Julians Medical Centre with a more accessible and convenient place to take their prescriptions.

The Medical Centre helps hundreds of people every week with many given prescriptions to help with acute and chronic conditions. Up until now however patients have had to walk to Caerleon Road to find their nearest pharmacy.

Mayberry Pharmacy's new chemist is directly opposite the St Julian's Medical Centre meaning that patients, in particular those who are elderly or have young children, will only have to walk across the road to get their medicines.

And to help ensure they don't have to wait long to get them, the chemist boasts a multi-pharmacy team including two senior pharmacists as well as consultation rooms providing free health checks, weigh loss advice, free hearing tests, chiropody and physiotherapy.

Paul Mayberry, managing director of Mayberry Pharmacy, said: "Last year we launched a consultation exercise with patients that used our previous pharmacy on Caerleon Road to understand their needs more so we could better serve them.

"Overwhelmingly, more than 95 per cent of our patients that used the St Julian's Medical Centre said they would find it easier to get their medicines if there was a pharmacy closer to the Centre.

"These is why we have taken the step to relocate our pharmacy to this area so that people will find it easier to get the medicines they need to stay fit and well."

To celebrate the launch of the new pharmacy, Wales and Newport Gwent Dragons rugby star Andrew Coombs was on hand to help the pharmacy team dispense patients' prescriptions.

He said: "A lot of our supporters are from St Julians and it's great to know that Mayberry Pharmacy's new chemist is going to help make life easier for people who have to take medicines living there."