Stephen Morgan MP visited a Lalys Pharmacy in the heart of Portsmouth to see some of the challenges being faced locally, following recent reports that thousands of community pharmacies in England are facing a “real risk” of closure due to years of flat NHS funding and mounting inflation.
Analysis by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) revealed that the number of pharmacy closures could be in the order of 3,000 by 2024.
Mr Morgan described the impact of these closures as ‘devastating,’ highlighting the potential impact on medicine supply, treatment safety, and opportunities for streamlined NHS care.
While pharmacies have huge potential to reduce the burden on GP services, 13 years of Conservative failure has pushed the NHS to breaking point, with pharmacies facing huge challenges of their own due to a government freeze in funding since 2017.
Community pharmacists on the frontline are bearing the brunt of this crisis facing burnout due to staff shortages, with a recent Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee survey revealing overwhelmingly low job satisfaction scores.
A Pharmacists’ Defense Association survey also revealed physical and verbal abuse against pharmacists has become unacceptably common and many now feel unsafe when at work.
The City MP has called on the Government to listen to the concerns of pharmacists and act to prevent this vital service from further collapse.
Following his visit, City MP Stephen Morgan said:
“Community pharmacies are a vital lifeline of primary care to some of the most vulnerable patients in our city. I want to recognise the pharmacists and their teams in our community who continue to deliver the best possible service in the face of immense challenges.
The value of our pharmacies has been taken for granted by this Government who have frozen funding since 2017 and ignored concerns of staff burnout.
That is why I am calling on the Government to listen to the concerns of pharmacists and act now to prevent further losses of this vital service.”
Mr Morgan has been standing up for pharmacists in Parliament through lobbying for our NHS to be properly funded, staffed, and resourced, and will continue to pay visits to local NHS services to listen to concerns.
He will be taking the experience of shadowing a local pharmacist and their teams forward by raising issues and concerns both locally and in Westminster.
