Somerset Members of Parliament have united in urging the government to provide increased financial support for pharmacies serving rural communities.
As part of its 10-year NHS plan, the Labour government aims to encourage more patients to seek treatment for minor ailments at pharmacies. This strategy is intended to ease pressures on general practitioners, urgent treatment centres, and accident and emergency departments at hospitals.
The Department of Health and Social Care has allocated additional funding to pharmacies to support this shift, making healthcare and medication more accessible without the need for long-distance travel.
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However, three Liberal Democrat MPs from Somerset have voiced concerns that the current funding falls short of what is necessary to keep rural pharmacies operational. They highlight challenges including bureaucratic obstacles, difficulties in recruiting staff, and local transport issues.
Rachel Gilmour MP for Tiverton and Minehead addressed these concerns during a Westminster Hall debate on June 2. She described community pharmacies as operating within “an incredibly fragile system,” noting that over 1,000 pharmacies have closed since 2016. Those remaining are expected to offer a broader range of services despite real-term funding cuts.
She stated, “Community pharmacies have absorbed a 30 per cent real-term reduction in government funding. For most, NHS funding represents 90 to 95 per cent of their annual income. This model is unsustainable—a slow strangulation. The government’s own independent economic analysis estimates a £2 billion annual funding gap.”
Although the government recently announced a 10.3 per cent increase in the community pharmacy budget to just over £3.6 billion, aimed at improving patients’ access to NHS services outside of GPs or urgent care, Mrs. Gilmour welcomed the move as “a positive step” but insisted it remains insufficient to prevent pharmacy closures.
Adam Dance MP for Yeovil emphasized the need for funding alongside workforce expansion to address recruitment challenges. He highlighted rural pharmacies serving wide areas with limited staffing, stating, “Our rural pharmacies are expected to do more with little extra support. The NHS workforce plan must include proper expansion of the pharmacy workforce.”
Mrs. Gilmour echoed these concerns, pointing to the high prescription volume managed by the 16 pharmacies in her constituency, which serve around 91,200 people and dispense approximately 113,000 prescriptions monthly. She warned that pharmacy closures in rural areas, where transport options are limited and populations are scattered, can trigger serious healthcare crises. For example, Bishop’s Lydeard lost its pharmacy in March 2024, replaced only by a dispensary for patients registered at the local surgery.
Mrs. Gilmour also criticized the unequal business rate burdens, noting that while pharmacies pay full rates, GP surgeries and dental practices do not. She argued that pharmacies are vital engines of community care and essential to the government’s vision for devolved, preventative healthcare. She called for funding to be aligned with these policy goals.
Gideon Amos MP for Taunton and Wellington shared concerns about pharmacy accessibility in larger towns. Wellington, with a population of 17,000, saw its pharmacies reduced from four to two, leading to long queues, medication shortages, and patient anxiety. He stressed that housing growth demands proper infrastructure planning, including adequate pharmacy services from the outset.
Minister for Care Stephen Kinnock defended the government’s record, emphasizing steps taken to reverse historic cuts and highlighting the importance of pharmacies in the NHS’s shift towards community-based care. He pointed out that the recent 10 per cent funding uplift is nearly three times the overall NHS budget growth, committing to place pharmacies “right at the heart” of the NHS’s future.