A report in the Mail Online (2 October) suggests that one in four high street pharmacies could close as a result of government plans to cut subsidies. (The average pharmacy receives a subsidy of £220,000 a year from the NHS.)
 
Many business leaders, health workers, patients, charities and every council in England and Wales are objecting to the plans, which critics warn will have “unintended and irreversible consequences”.
 
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee said it faces cuts of £113 million in the final three months of the current financial year, with further cuts of £200 million in 2017/18.
 
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Older and frail people rely on their chemist not just as a place to get medicines, but as somewhere they can go to for informal health advice. If this lifeline was removed, it would mean more people having to potentially travel longer distances to GP surgeries and adding to existing pressures.
 
“We would like to see pharmacies playing a bigger role in providing public health services. Additional investment in community pharmacies could improve the prevention of disease and help take the strain off the National Health Service and social care.”
 
Guppy Kular of Motts Pharmacy said the government is trying to justify the cuts by stating that it is targeting clusters of pharmacies in certain areas. “They have gone as far as saying that 40% of pharmacies are in clusters, but have not stated where these are and the respective populations of these areas,” he told Reepham Life.
 
“Despite this, these pharmacies are still serving the population around them, giving patients choice and reducing pressure on GPs and A&E. It’s also worth noting that Norfolk does not have such clusters; however, every pharmacy in this area will be affected. Small pharmacies like mine will be badly affected and I am already looking at my books to see where I can fill this up-and-coming hole in my finances.”
 
While Mr Kular agrees that the NHS has a funding crisis and that “we all have a role in using its money wisely”, he said this approach “will not do much to change this industry in the way the government wants. It is more likely to cause more pressure to build up on services that are already at breaking point. I will continue to try and serve my very worried patients as best as I can while trying to absorb another painful punch from my paymaster.”
 

• Reepham is classed as a “key service centre”, but the fear is that the town will lose yet another key service. You can help by writing to local MP, explaining how vital this service is to Reepham and the surrounding district. Contact: The Rt Hon Keith Simpson MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. Tel: 020 7219 4053. Email: keith.simpson.mp@parliament.uk

 
See our earlier story:

• Local pharmacy backs campaign against proposed cuts