October 14th 2026

By Ailsa Colquhoun

DDA Chairman supports Rural Penalty report findings

Dr Richard West, chairman of the Dispensing Doctors' Association (DDA), has written to the national press following the recent report, The Rural Penalty

In his letter, he writes:  

Sir,

Congratulations to the authors of the latest report from Policy Exchange, The Rural Penalty, Up to one fifth of England faces 'rural penalty' of lower funding and worse access, 12th October.

They set out the case that I have been making for many years: that rural dispensing GP practices require investment in services and workforce if they are going to survive. 

There has been no increase in the budget to run GP dispensaries since 2013, despite the rise in inflation, employers NIC and the minimum/living wage. 

The system of drug cost reimbursement should encourage the very best clinical practice which is good for patients, the NHS and contractors.

Many GP dispensing practices, which exist in remote, rural and coastal communities where there is no pharmacy, are dispensing drugs at a loss.  The current GP contract is complex and can mean that doing the right thing for patients can require doing the wrong thing for practice income. As Lord Darzi pointed out in his recent report: “that cannot be right."

I am ready to work with the government, and the NHS, to develop sustainable services for patients. 

Yours faithfully,

Dr Richard West MBE

Woolpit Health Centre, Bury St Edmunds

Chairman, Dispensing Doctors' Association