The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7255 p883
28 June 2003

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Downing Street petitions

Petitions and letters calling for the preservation of local pharmacy services have been delivered to Prime Minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street by representatives of pharmacists from Surrey and north east London.

One petition was delivered by Hugh Mullen and Hasmukh Patel from Egham, Surrey, accompanied by their member of Parliament, Philip Hammond (Con, Runnymede and Weybridge).

Mr Hammond has written to every one of his constituents who signed the petition expressing support for the campaign.

"While I would normally be sympathetic to a proposal to remove barriers to competition, this is a very special case," Mr Hammond said. "At the moment, the regulations surrounding the grant of contracts to dispense NHS prescriptions ensures that the NHS prescription business effectively cross-subsidises the many unpaid services (including the giving of advice) which local pharmacists perform. If pharmacies were deprived of their income from NHS dispensing those services would either have to be paid for or would have to be provided by other parts of the primary health care team. That would be a huge own goal for the NHS."

The other was delivered by Hemant Patel, secretary of North East London Local Pharmaceutical Committee. In an accompanying letter, Mr Patel, who is also chairman of the National Pharmaceutical Association, set out 11 points which he asked Mr Blair and the Government to consider before making a final decision about what to about the Office of Fair Trading's call to abolish all restraints over the opening of community pharmacies.

Mr Patel drew a parallel between community pharmacies and local post offices, describing them as services which glue communities together. The closure of pharmacies in secondary shopping parades would lead to the collapse of other local businesses, creating a need for regenerative measures.

He said that it was not clear why the Government had adopted a different line for England from that taken by the devolved administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Mr Patel also asked why the Department for Trade and Industry was taking the lead on a health matter. "It seems inherently wrong that competition theory should dominate over health care planning," he wrote.

Community pharmacies should be planned as a network that provides a platform for the launch of new professional services, Mr Patel told the Prime Minister. So the proposed balanced package of measures should centre on giving primary care organisations greater flexibility in ensuring that patients get ready and easy access to high quality services. Any gaps in provision should be resolved by negotiations between LPCs and primary care trusts.

"It is vital that Ministers and health care planners recognise that the future of the community pharmacy sector is a crucial issue for local communities throughout England," Mr Patel concluded. "Without a compelling and demonstrated need to alter substantially the current market dynamics, they risk possible long-term unintended and unforeseen negative consequences which will jeopardise not only local healthcare provision, but the long-term objectives of the core consumer for NHS pharmacy services: the Department of Health itself."