Pharmacy Closures
Debate between Lord Tyrie and Baroness Merron(4 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Baroness Merron (Lab)
I know that the noble Lord is aware of this, but pharmacies are private businesses that open and close for a range of reasons. Sometimes pharmacies close and then reopen. That is why I spoke in my Answer about 19 net closures. It is worth noting, as the previous Government did, that access to pharmaceutical services remains good—80% of patients can access a pharmacy within a 20-minute walk. However, local authority health and well-being boards look at local areas and we have a financial scheme to support the development of pharmacies in underserved areas.
Lord Tyrie (Non-Afl)
Has any consideration been given to some relaxation of the rules which restrict the ability of GPs to open pharmacies at their practices, to which the Minister has already alluded? Might it be possible to alleviate this problem by relaxing those rules?
Baroness Merron (Lab)
As I have said, we keep this constantly under review, but it is the case that GPs can provide dispensing services in a number of situations. That particularly helps if people live further away from a community facility than is ideal.