The Heyford Park Pharmacy

How we've helped bring a new business plan and a community together



A brand-new pharmacy has opened to serve one of Oxfordshire’s fastest growing communities. Our work over two years helped meet all the communications needs of Minerva Clinical Services and concluded with the formal opening of the new facility by Victoria Prentis MP at Heyford Park in March 2023. 

Beginning in 2020, we successfully helped rally local people to write letters of support to NHS England after Minerva’s initial application to open a pharmacy was turned down. We arranged public online meetings, held conversations with key stakeholders, created a new website and produced regular email news letters to gather support. At the same time, we worked to provide extensive media coverage and input to assist at the appeal hearing that resulted in the NHS reversing its original decision and allowing the pharmacy plan to move ahead. 

During the past year the pharmacy, complete with two consulting rooms for GP and nursing appointments, has been carefully constructed from scratch in an empty retail unit. Staff were recruited, mostly from the local area, and all necessary licensing and approvals were sought and granted while we kept local people informed via a continuing communications stream and by securing more local media coverage.

A strategic communications plan was put in place for the phased opening of pharmacy services. A key element of this involved encouraging residents to drop in and meet the friendly new team and to nominate the pharmacy as their new place for prescription pick-ups instead of those they were using elsewhere.

The entire opening was a great success and residents now have a fantastic new facility in their community that's providing for many of their healthcare needs. There's also scope for future expansion to help the many more people who’ll be coming to live at Heyford Park under the community developers' approved plans.

The Minerva Clinical Services pharmacy is sited at Unit 3, The Station House, Heyford Park, Oxfordshire OX25 5BZ

Chris A’Court Communications continues to work with Minerva in several ways. This includes helping to manage and maintain its website, facebook and instagram channels and its email campaigns.

Contact us now to discuss how we could help you to develop or grow a business like this one.   

View images of how the project at Heyford Park developed in the vision to reality online article.