September 5th 2024

Press Release: DDA responds to NPA 'pharmacy desert' article

Rural patients left deserted by a pharmacy closure should speak to their GP about receiving the GP dispensing service, the DDA will argue in response to claims that rural areas are becoming pharmacy ‘deserts’.

Following NPA research citing the scarcity of pharmacies in West Berkshire, the DDA points out that the county has at least 12 dispensing GP practices, offering NHS medicine dispensing and other medicines services to 44,100 patients – over a third of all their registered patients.

In its analysis the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said that 17 of the 20 council areas with the lowest number of pharmacies per 100,000 people were in rural locations. It noted that West Berkshire has four times fewer pharmacies than Westminster, which has the highest number of pharmacies in the country.

The NPA asserts that pharmacy closures in rural towns and villages mean people have to travel further for medication as it urged the Government to reverse budget cuts. NPA chief executive Paul Rees said: “These shocking statistics show how a growing number of areas are at risk of becoming pharmacy deserts, with people in rural towns and villages having to travel longer and longer distances to get hold of the medication they need.”

However, dispensing patients can access medication from a dispensing GP without even having to leave the GP surgery.

DDA chairman Dr Richard West said: “The GP dispensing service is designed to ensure NHS medicine supply in areas where people have little or no access to a pharmacy service. People in rural areas who now live more than a mile from a pharmacy should speak to their GP about whether they can receive the NHS GP dispensing service."