Sunderland MP Bridget Phillipson listens to city pharmacists concerns as Save our Pharmacies campaign continues

In June (2024) Whitfield G Ltd pharmacies, who currently run 10 chemists in the city, were part of a national day of action as part of the ‘Save our Pharmacies’ campaign.

The campaign saw staff at the ten pharmacies, as well as at other pharmacies across the city, dress in black, turn off their lights as well as not offering some of their usual frontline services.

Speaking to the Echo on the day of action on June 20, Sunderland chemists cited a 30% real terms reduction in funding over the last decade under the previous Tory government.

With pharmacies on average relying on 90% of their funding from the NHS they say their funding was cut in 2016 from £2.8bn to £2.6bn and has remained the same ever since, despite an increase in energy, wage and drugs costs.

Twins and Whitfield G Ltd directors Fiona Kerry and Karen Gaines told the Echo it was a situation which was not sustainable.

Speaking on the day of action Fiona said: “The situation at the moment is absolutely desperate. We are basically making a loss on pretty much everything we sell but we have a duty of care to provide our patients with the medication they need.

“We’ve already had to cut back some of our services and opening hours as it’s simply not sustainable.”

The campaign also saw a petition containing thousands of signatures from pharmacists and patients handed over to the then Conservative government.

With a new Labour Government, Fiona and Kerry are hoping for an increase in funding and earlier this week welcomed a visit to their Houghton based pharmacy from from Houghton and Sunderland South MP Bridget Phillipson who listened to their concerns.

During the discussions, Fiona, Kerry and fellow director Cliff Gaines discussed the issue of funding, the role of community pharmacies and the strategic importance of pharmacies as a critical component of the NHS. 

Fiona said: “We were delighted to have a politician of Bridget’s calibre take this issue seriously and recognise the importance of community pharmacies locally and nationally.

“Leveraging her support, we hope to continue delivering vital services long into the future.”

Karen added: “With 10 pharmacies closing every week nationally, the Government must take urgent action to make community pharmacy viable again.

“During the meeting, Bridget was empathetic and listened to our concerns and those of the community.

“In the future, we hope to see this support continue.”

As part of the NHS Pharmacy First initiative, pharmacies now provide the first point of contact for patients with minor symptoms and conditions, which helps to alleviate some of the pressures on GP surgeries but also leads to incurring increased costs.

Cliff added: “Community pharmacies are the gateway to the NHS. If properly funded, pharmacies could easily offer many more services.” We contacted Mrs Phillipson and her public relations team on Monday (October 7) to get a comment on her visit to the pharmacy, her views on the situation pharmacies are experiencing and what she hopes the new Labour government can do to improve the situation.

As yet, we have not received any response.