The petition of residents of the constituency of Kingston Upon Hull North,
Declares that the Boots pharmacies in Hull North should not be closed; notes in particular residents’ concerns about losing the pharmacies at 860 Beverley Road and 132 Chanterlands Avenue; further notes that pharmacies play a vital role in alleviating pressures facing the NHS and are relied upon by local communities.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to ensure that the Boots pharmacies in Hull remain open and that local pharmacies are sufficiently supported and easily accessible to residents.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Dame Diana Johnson, Official Report, 9 January 2024; Vol. 743, c. 270 .]
[P002885]
Observations from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Dame Andrea Leadsom):
The Government recognise that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities, an easily accessible front door to the NHS, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals. However, community pharmacies are private businesses that receive funding to provide NHS pharmaceutical services. Whether to open, divest, consolidate or close a pharmacy is a commercial decision made by the business owner, not by the NHS or the Government.
The Department continues to monitor changes to the market closely to ensure patients retain good access to NHS pharmaceutical services. In addition, the law requires that every three years, local authority Health and Wellbeing Boards undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments to identify if there is a need for improvement or better access to services. Contractors can apply to open a pharmacy where there is a gap or a need for improved access to services or if they can make a case for providing other benefits to the local communities.
When their usual local pharmacy closes, patients can choose to access any of the remaining pharmacies nearby. Patients can also choose to access NHS pharmaceutical services remotely through any of the approximately 400 internet pharmacies in England, which are contractually required to deliver medicines to patients’ home address free of charge.
The statistics published by the NHS Business Service Authority show that there are 24 pharmacies, including one distance selling pharmacy (DSP) in Kingston Upon Hull North.
NHS Humber & North Yorkshire integrated care board, responsible for commissioning NHS primary care services, reports that there are six pharmacies within 1 mile of 860 Beverley Road and 10 pharmacies within 1 mile of 132 Chanterlands Avenue.