Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, has met Health Minister Andrea Leadsom to demand action over the pharmacy closure at Fortuneswell, Portland.
“This is an area with very specific requirements,” says Drax. “We have many elderly, infirm and otherwise vulnerable residents who need a local pharmacy within easy reach. Closing the Boots pharmacy in Fortuneswell has left them with difficult journeys to get the medications they need.”
“I understand that Boots has undertaken to increase their resources at the remaining Portland Boots, so that the increased demand from patients can be met. But the fact remains that there is one less pharmacy open and it is in a less convenient location for Fortuneswell locals. Not only that, but Portland’s unique geography could easily mean climbing a steep hill to the only one open.”
“I have asked both NHS Dorset and the Council for help. NHS Dorset is asking Boots and the local GP practice for assurances on maintaining pharmacy provision. The council, which runs the local, ‘Health and Wellbeing Board’ decides, on the basis of a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA), how many pharmacies we should have and how far from each other they should be.”
“Apparently, guidelines say that a pharmacy should be available within 20 minutes’ reach. I am told the loss of Boots in Fortuneswell still leaves other options within 20 minutes, so this provision will not be reexamined until a fresh assessment of the local area’s needs are made.”
“I have suggested to the Council and the Minister that it is time for such a re-assessment. The Government has just launched the ‘Pharmacy First’ initiative, which makes pharmacies the first stop for anyone feeling under the weather. How can they possibly be an alternative to seeing your GP if they no longer exist?”
The Boots pharmacy closure is reportedly part of the company’s closure list in response to serious profit warnings across the group.