Rachel Gilmour

Rachel Gilmour

Liberal Democrat — Tiverton and Minehead

Speaking in the House of Commons on 17 December 2024

Debate

Community Pharmacies: Devon and the South-west

Contribution

I see it as a pyramid, with pharmacies at the bottom, right up to operations and A&E at the top. According to the CCA, between September 2022 and June 2024 nearly 200,000 hours of pharmacy time was lost due to pharmacies closing their doors permanently. Over 1,000 pharmacies have closed since 2016, with a net loss of 136 pharmacies in the south-west over the last decade—including in Tiverton and Minehead, where we did not have many pharmacies to begin with. The number of pharmacies operating in England is now the lowest since 2008-09. There are reports across the sector of sustained difficulties in even staffing the pharmacies that remain open. The sector cannot sustain these exits, nor can communities where pharmacies are so vital. Pharmacies across the south-west and Devon need proper investment to safeguard and fix our broken pharmacy system, and to ensure that our health system is up to scratch and our social care system is supported.

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