A Somerset MP has called for more support for community pharmacies.
Rachel Gilmour, Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton and Minehead, attended an event in Parliament this week to learn more about the work of pharmacists and to hear their concerns for the future.
The event, organised by Community Pharmacy England, highlighted the range of healthcare services provided by pharmacies and the benefits they bring to residents in Tiverton and Minehead, which is home to 15 pharmacies.
Pharmacy owners and their representatives explained to Mrs Gilmour that they do much more than just dispense medicines, with 56 million people a year nationally going straight to pharmacy as their first port of call.
However, Mrs Gilmour also heard about how all of this is at risk due to the extreme pressures pharmacies are under, following a more than 30 per cent real terms funding cut since 2016.
More than 1,200 pharmacies have closed in England since then, including one in Tiverton and Minehead.
In under a decade, the proportion of NHS funding on pharmacies has fallen from 2.4 per cent to 1.6 per cent, with an average pharmacy relying on NHS funding for 90 per cent of its income.
Pharmacies operate many services in our care sector, yet in recent years, the hours lost from pharmacy opening times have been steadily increasing, either through temporary or permanent closure.
Following the event, Mrs Gilmour said: "It was great to hear more about the crucial role community pharmacies play in Tiverton and Minehead.
"Pharmacy teams are doing great work delivering care closer to home, but I heard loudly and clearly that more support is needed to ensure they are able to continue to provide what the NHS and, crucially, members of the public, need.
"I will continue to call on the government to increase the budget for pharmacies across the country, with a backdated level of funding from April 2024.
"The government also needs to seriously consider increasing the budget for our vital pharmacies to be in line with inflation for 2025/2026.
"With improved government backing, pharmacies across Tiverton and Minehead and all over the UK can continue their crucial work and prevent unnecessary strains on the NHS further down the line."
Share