Chemist problems makes Tiverton "like third-world country" says MP

Long queues and medicines not available, it's claimed

The “shocking” problems that residents have been hit with due to issues with pharmacies in a Devon town has been revealed at a public meeting.

Residents got the chance to outline their major struggles with securing medication at some pharmacies in Tiverton at a public meeting attended by the town’s politicians, including their MP, Rachel Gilmour.

A nationwide squeeze on pharmacies has occurred, exacerbated by problems at some branches overseen by Jhoots Pharmacies.

In Tiverton, this has led to erratic opening hours at Jhoots branches there, and reduced availability of some medicines even at other pharmacy brands as demand became reliant on fewer stores.

While there is now some potential relief, with Allied Pharmacies confirming last year it would take on 60 Jhoots pharmacies, including in Tiverton, Ms Gilmour said the case studies from residents would help bolster her case in further lobbying efforts surrounding the sector.

“Lots of people attended the meeting and it was a good opportunity for people to share their frustrations, as well as being very useful to hear directly from people with some quite shocking case studies,” she said.

“It’s like a third-world country, with people queueing for three hours, and elderly people finding it difficult to stand up.

“Very often, even after waiting so long, people find the drugs are not there.”

Ms Gilmour added that residents also faced a huge dilemma, because if they opted to turn to an online pharmacy for their medication, then they could not switch back to a pharmacy shop.

“But with the online ones, you don’t get that face-to-face advice you do with your local pharmacy,” Ms Gilmour said.

The MP added that pharmacists had been increasingly lent on by the previous government, with more responsibility sent their way but without the funding to support it.

“It puts lives at risk,” she said. “If you have high blood pressure and you can’t get your medicine for a week, there is so much risk, and the consequences to the NHS could mean more people are sicker than they need to be, which pushes up the cost of emergency treatment.”

Ms Gilmour said pharmacies had been an issue she had focused on as soon as she was elected, recalling that when she was queuing up in Parliament to be sworn in just days after the 2024 general election, she discussed the issue with Exeter MP Steve Race.

That conversation helped secure a cross-party debate on pharmacies, and their funding being subsequently increased.

In March last year, the government announced it would increase the funding for the 2025/26 financial year for pharmacies in England by £375 million, to over £3.07 billion.

But Ms Gilmour said Friday’s public meeting showed there was still more to do, and that she would use the meeting’s outcome to bolster further lobbying efforts.

“There is a national problem because pharmacists are leaving pharmacy businesses because there is not enough money from government coming in,” she said.

“And that’s an issue because the pharmacy offer is part of primary care, meaning it is a first port of call that could help improve early interventions and prevention, saving the NHS money.

“The UK is still spending disproportionate amounts on problems that are exacerbated by a lack of primary care.”

Ms Gilmour said she would be contacting the care minister, Stephen Kinnock MP, to make further representations on the issue, as well as the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pharmacy.

She added that one issue on her radar was strengthened regulation for pharmacy brands, given pharmacists themselves were “regulated up to the eyeballs” but the businesses that run them seemed to be subject to less stringent rules.

Allied Pharmacies announced in November it would take on 60 Jhoots branches, including the Market Place store in Tiverton, as well as sites in Seaton and Sidmouth in Devon. A subsequent announcement added the Newport Street site in Tiverton, too.

While some Jhoots branches have had issues, Manjit Jhooty, who operates 21 Jhoots pharmacies under Jhoots Healthcare Limited and Pasab Limited, has confirmed the takeover by Allied does not relate to any pharmacies he owns.