PRESSURE is mounting on pharmacy services in Melksham, as Lloyds Pharmacy based in the town’s Sainsbury’s is due to shut on 1st June.
In January, Lloyds Pharmacy announced 237 of its pharmacies based in Sainsbury’s supermarkets will shut by the end of this year. As well as the Melksham pharmacy, Chippenham and Bath will also be axed.
A spokesperson for Lloyd Pharmacy said, “Final plans for each pharmacy are being determined on a branch-by-branch basis and we are currently in consultation with those employees potentially affected.
“Throughout the process, Lloyds Pharmacy is committed to helping patients easily find a suitable alternative provision. As part of this, branch teams are keeping patients informed of when services from their specific pharmacy will end so that they can transfer their nominations to an alternative provision.
“Lloyds Pharmacy can confirm that no other Lloyds Pharmacy store is at risk of closure, except those within the Sainsbury’s estate.”
Following a surge of pharmacy closures and cuts to funding, Gompels Pharmacy, based on the High Street, urged people to sign the Save our Pharmacies petition earlier this year, lobbying for fairer funding from the government, as services the pharmacy provides have increased.
A lack of funding for these additional services poses a threat to the future of the community pharmacy industry and for the first time ever, national pharmacy bodies have joined forces to lobby for fair NHS funding for all pharmacies in England.
