By Nick Statham

There are fears the closure of two pharmacies could impact resident's access to prescriptions on evenings and at the weekend in Stockport. 

Lloyds Pharmacy has closed its concession outlets at Sainsbury branches in Cheadle and Hazel Grove, leading to concerns that residents could struggle to access services in the evenings, as well as on Sundays and bank holidays.

It comes amid scores of closures across the country, with rising operational costs, staff shortages and reduced government financial support being blamed for the trend.

The number of pharmacies in England has fallen to its lowest level since 2015, according to the NHS Business Services Authoring, while the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, says there is a shortfall of £1.1 billion in funding for independent pharmacies each year.

The issue was raised at the latest meeting of the One Stockport Health and Care Locality board – a joint committee between  the council and NHS partnership organisations.

Ben Fryer, interim Director of Public Health at Stockport council, said that, while the closures would not impact residents' ability to get to a pharmacy within a reasonable travel time, they would affect out of hours services – particularly in the evenings and on Sundays.

Mr Fryer told the meeting it was a 'real issue'  – particularly given the other challenges facing primary care in Stockport and across Greater Manchester.

He also noted that the Hazel Grove pharmacy was the nearest to Stepping Hill Hospital and Mastercall, so it is  'where typically members of the public have collected the bulk of their prescriptions'.

Council leader Mark Hunter said it was an area of 'great concern' to the wider public.

"What concerns me more is not the decision of Lloyds Pharmacy and a couple of closures in Sainsbury's stores, inconvenient though they undoubtedly are to many people, but that this is the thin end of a wedge – and that we are going to see more," he said.

"And I think that's the really worrying thing and, frankly, if I might say so, something people in government need to get a grip of.

"Because there is no doubt in my mind from what I understand those issues to be – well documented in the media – that we are going to see more pharmacy closures and that will make it more difficult for a whole lot of our residents."

He added that it was important for bosses to 'stand up' and 'say we are not happy and content with the direction of travel on this'.

"I know the community at large would certainly not thank us for standing idly by while these things are happening to us and we have no intention of doing so. We will make strong representations about it."

Dr Viren Mehta, a GP and vice chair of Viaduct Care, said it had emerged alongside dental treatment as one of the biggest challenges in primary care.

"I think it comes back to the issue of many primary care providers feeling that the current contractual offer is simply unviable given current challenges," he said.

"I think the other thing to remember is remembering the role of community pharmacy not just as a place where people dispense medicines, but in terms of our wider health and care offer a real anchor for lots of communities in terms of where they get their general health advice."

Dr Mehta agreed with Mr Fryer that the 'urgent need to address' the problem should be highlighted to NHS England (NHSE).

The point was taken up by council chief executive Caroline Simpson, who said it was also important  'to lift it up the list of priorities at Greater Manchester level as well as through NHSE'.

She suggested drafting a letter to raise the issue with the Greater Manchester Integrated Commissioning Board – and potentially NHSE –  in parallel with Mr Fryer's report to Stockport's health and wellbeing board.

"We can't do enough in terms of talking about some of the challenges and here are some real tangible examples of impact on the ground," she added.

The ONE Stockport Health and Care Locality Board met at the town hall on Tuesday (May 30).