Plymouth pharmacies deemed sufficient

Report raises concerns

Plymouth has enough pharmacy provision in all areas except Barne Barton despite the closure of seven pharmacies in the last three years.

That’s according to a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA) that will inform decision-making by the Integrated Care Board (ICB) over the next three years.

Plymouth City Council’s health and wellbeing board accepted the assessment at a recent meeting, following a consultation with health and social care professionals.

But there are concerns about queues at a pharmacy in Plympton and whether there would be enough capacity for Sherford which will have 5,500 homes when fully built.

The PNA says with 47 outlets, there is sufficient choice of pharmacies in the city, including a new one at Cattedown.

The exception was Barne Barton had a lack of medical provision because of deprivation and geographic isolation, councillors were told.

Increased costs and difficulties in recruiting and retaining pharmacists were among the reasons that seven pharmacies closed in a short period of time.

Cllr Patrick Nicholson (Ind, Plympton St Mary) said he didn’t believe that the PNA gave the message the public sees on the ground.

Plympton had lost one pharmacy and one in Ridgeway always has large queues, he said.

“If we are sending a message to the ICB about resources for pharmacies, it is not really giving a true message. We are giving a sign-off to a document that effectively does not really recognise deterioration in the quality and provision of pharmacy, yet says it is still acceptable.

“I don’t think it is acceptable. It is not acceptable for elderly people stuck in a queue. There does not seem to be much triaging. They just join the back of the queue and among that queue they could be some complex enquiries.”

Director of strategy at Community Pharmacy Devon David Bearman said pharmacies are in a “very precarious state”.

“Pharmacies have to have a certain critical mass to be viable and you cannot have one everywhere. It’s still a very fluid situation, and there pharmacies changing hands on a fairly frequent basis. We do not see that changing in the current climate.

“They are still in a difficult situation in terms of viability. The system is fragile and more  opening could destabilise others, so we have to be careful as it can cause more damage.”

He said pharmacies could not run on supplying medicines alone and there was a huge scope for broadening their activity with the increased capability of pharmacists as independent prescribers who assess and diagnose patients and prescribe medicines independently of doctors.

Being able to deal with conditions such as high blood pressure would have a  impact on the amount of people accessing hospital care.

The first cohort of students trained in these roles would finish their foundation year next year, the meeting was told.

Cllr Mary Aspinall (Lab, Sutton and Mount Gould) said supermarkets with pharmacies opening late had helped improve accessibility in Plymouth, but councillors needed to keep a watching eye.

“If a major supermarket decides to stop the pharmacy, it causes chaos,” she said.

She added that more home deliveries of medicines is a good thing.

The meeting was told that  people can track prescriptions on the NHS app, which prevents unnecessary visits to pharmacies.

Cllr Andy Lugger (Con, Southway) said everyone wants a pharmacy on their doorstep, but that is not achievable.

But he added that Sherford has only one principal pharmacy earmarked for in the assessment and if it is going to offer the full array of services, that needed thinking about.

Board members were told that supplementary information could be added to the PNA during the next three years if the situation changes.