Helen raises Wem pharmacy troubles with Minister

Helen Morgan MP has secured a meeting with a Government Minister over recruitment issues faced by pharmacies in rural areas after raising problems at a Shropshire pharmacy.

The North Shropshire MP told the House of Commons that the community pharmacy in Wem have struggled to find a full-time pharmacist and have been relying on locums to keep the service afloat.

Wem residents who are reliant on the service have had to cope with irregular and inconsistent services as a result, with the added impact of the pharmacy now making a loss.

Primary Care Minister Andrea Leadsom has now offered a meeting to discuss the issue of recruitment in North Shropshire.

Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire, asked, “In the community pharmacy in Wem, in my constituency, they have struggled to find a full-time pharmacist relying instead on locums. That means the opening times are erratic, people can't rely on it and the pharmacy is loss making because the locums are so expensive.

“Could the Minister to elaborate on how she will help pharmacists in rural areas recruit the full-time pharmacists they need and reduce their reliance on locums?”

Andrea Leadsom MP, Minister for Primary Care, replied, “The Honourable Lady will be aware that community pharmacies are normally private businesses. There's a few owned by GP practises, but on the whole, they're private businesses. We are training the registered community pharmacists that we need and it will be obviously for that local area to be able to put in place their own recruitment policies. I'll be happy to meet with her and discuss it further.”