Andrew has been receiving complaints from residents following the closure of one of Warminster's three pharmacies. He has also seen for himself the lunchtime closure of Boots in the high street and disgruntled customers waiting outside.
He wrote to the local Integrated Care Board last month and has been told the new Pharmacy First Service for extending services offered by chemists may have caused pressure on traditional prescription work. In his letter, Richard Collinge of the ICB says that the Health and Wellbeing Board will have to decide if its Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment needs updating to facilitate another pharmacy, possibly through a supplementary statement. In the meantime, there's apparently nothing to stop a chemist applying to set up a new pharmacy in Warminster.
Andrew said;
"The response is positive. I have written back to urge a speedy resolution. I welcome chemists doing more to deliver preventive health services like blood pressure checks and simple treatments but that implies more premises, not fewer."
Andrew has also been contacted by patients from Westbury concerned at the closure of the Prescription Ordering Direct (POD) service for repeat meds and replacement with the prescriptions team at the White Horse surgery. He has been in touch with the surgery and with the ICB. He said;
"It's right that surgeries should continually seek to improve services. My worry is for those patients struggling with online orders and for people concerned that they will be left waiting interminably as phone lines are jammed up."