Community Pharmacies: Devon and the South-west

Andrew George Excerpts

Tuesday 17th December 2024 Westminster Hall

[Rachel Gilmour]

I will come on to Pharmacy First at the end of the debate, because I see it as the solution, rather than the problem.

The sector is trying its hardest, but without a fundamental overhaul of the system these NHS services, which are much-needed by patients and the public, may fall by the wayside into one of the following pits. There are the hours lost. When the money is not there, pharmacies cannot operate. As we see in many areas across the south-west and the UK, including in Tiverton and Minehead, hundreds of hours have been lost to temporary closures of pharmacies. According to the Company Chemists’ Association, pharmacies across the south-west have cut opening hours to the tune of 130,400 hours over just more than a year and a half by reducing their opening hours. According to Community Pharmacy England, from October 2021 to May 2024, in my constituency alone, more than 520 hours of pharmacy time were lost due to temporary pharmacy closures.

Although pharmacies operate all the services that I mentioned in the first part of my speech—and more, but I do not have time to go through them all—the closures take a toll on the GPs and A&E staff who might be someone’s next port of call if they cannot see their pharmacist. They take a toll on the NHS 111 line if the individual calls in, and they take a toll on the people who might not have any other free time in that day to take care of their health needs. Those lost hours add up. When pharmacies cannot provide those appointments or other services, it leads to bottlenecks elsewhere in the system.

Over the first three months of Pharmacy First, to which I will come shortly, pharmacies took 234 appointments out of the GP system simply by offering consultations for the seven applicable conditions. Pharmacies have fantastic potential to relieve pressure and provide new ways for people to access medical services, receive advice and so much more. Pharmacies cannot fulfil their potential if they are closed. The prospect of local pharmacies closing really does scare people. In a recent poll, 83% of respondents reported that they would be concerned about their local pharmacy closing. Data shows that closures are disproportionately taking place in the most deprived areas, with 50% of the pharmacy closures recorded in areas in the lowest three deciles of deprivation.

[Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)]

Further to the point made by the hon. Member for Exeter (Steve Race), is that not the nub of the argument? If the Government are to make the three shifts—including, importantly, the shift from hospital to community—they must not only stem the loss of pharmacies, but build them up.

[Rachel Gilmour]

I see it as a pyramid, with pharmacies at the bottom, right up to operations and A&E at the top.

According to the CCA, between September 2022 and June 2024 nearly 200,000 hours of pharmacy time was lost due to pharmacies closing their doors permanently. Over 1,000 pharmacies have closed since 2016, with a net loss of 136 pharmacies in the south-west over the last decade—including in Tiverton and Minehead, where we did not have many pharmacies to begin with. The number of pharmacies operating in England is now the lowest since 2008-09. There are reports across the sector of sustained difficulties in even staffing the pharmacies that remain open. The sector cannot sustain these exits, nor can communities where pharmacies are so vital. Pharmacies across the south-west and Devon need proper investment to safeguard and fix our broken pharmacy system, and to ensure that our health system is up to scratch and our social care system is supported.