Patients stranded without medicine as pharmacies close in isolated areas ...Middle East

Dozens of pharmacies earmarked by the Government as vital to their communities have shut their doors in the past two years, according to the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).

These pharmacies were identified as being in areas where people do not have ready access to medication and where deprivation levels are significantly higher than average.

Community pharmacies receive around 90 per cent of their income from the NHS.

Patients who used to be served by Wheaton Aston Pharmacy in Stafford now have a nearly 6 mile journey to get to a pharmacy.

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More than 1,250 pharmacies in England have been forced to close in the past decade, leaving some areas at risk of becoming “pharmacy deserts”, the NPA said.

Plymouth has had the highest rate of pharmacy closures in the country in the last two years.

She said a shortage of GP appointments has also meant that residents are increasingly relying on pharmacists for additional advice, which has increased their workload.

NPA chair Nick Kaye said: “It’s horrifying that so many of the pharmacies singled out by the government as in need of special support to protect their communities are now shut for good.

“Pharmacies are a haven of invaluable health advice, medicine supplies and local expertise upon which millions of people rely but are still closing at an alarming rate.”

Last year, NHS England spent £250,000 to evaluate clinical services provided by community pharmacies, in advance of the next community pharmacy contract. The evaluation will be used to help NHS England “make effective decisions regarding clinical services for the future community pharmacy sector”.

“Unfortunately, we inherited a system that has been neglected for too long and isn’t supporting the pharmacists we need to deliver for patients at a local level. We will work with the sector, making better use of the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, to build a service fit for the future.”

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