Gideon Amos pays tribute to pharmacy campaigners

Gideon Amos, MP for Taunton and Wellington, paid tribute to pharmacy campaigners in Wellington as he told a debate in Parliament that communities should not have to “rise up against the challenges and rules of the NHS to get or restore pharmacy provision”.

Gideon’s comments came in a Westminster Hall debate earlier this week secured by fellow Liberal Democrat MP Rachel Gilmour on the topic of community pharmacies, in which he spoke of the challenges that Wellington has faced recently.

He said: “The Boots pharmacy in the medical centre closed, followed by Jhoots in September, leaving its staff in the parlous state that my hon. Friend referred to earlier.

“That left only two pharmacies, Superdrug and Boots, for a town of 17,000 residents.

“Queues that were 15 people deep formed, medicines were not ordered in time and patients became anxious.

“I challenged the decision of the NHS to refuse to support the opening of another pharmacy.

“I pay tribute to the Wellington Pharmacy Action Group. Its dossier, which was sent to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, was a 17-page challenge to NHS Somerset, which, alongside all the pressure brought to bear by myself and others, eventually changed the position.”

“The pharmaceutical needs assessment seems to be fundamentally flawed. How could it be prepared at a time when the town had four pharmacies, but also apparently demonstrate that two pharmacies were enough and no more needed to be opened?

“Wellington is a textbook case of a town where housing growth is outrunning the provision of infrastructure. Essential services should be built in from the start, not promised after the fact, and definitely not reduced by half, from four pharmacies to two.”

Speaking after the debate Gideon said: “Whilst we have seen the situation in Wellington improve it should not have required so much pressure from The Wellington Pharmacy Action Group, Wellington Town Council and myself to restore pharmacy services.

“With Government housing targets bearing down on us it is the infrastructure that cannot keep up with demand, we Liberal Democrats are calling for GP surgeries with new development, and the same must go for pharmacies and dentists.”