No need for more pharmacies in Surrey, says new report

Almost 1,200 people signed a petition calling on health bosses to recognise the need for a chemist on Thames Ditton’s high street.

The Boots in the town was one of 19 pharmacies which shut its doors for good to patients between October 2022- March 2024, according to council documents.

At a health and well-being meeting on March 19, one mother gave a statement to the county council saying it was “unacceptable” that she had to walk for nearly an hours’ round trip to collect medication for her sick child as she had no car.

Another person said many people in the village cannot travel to collect their prescriptions or ask for help with minor ailments.

But health board members noted the petition but ultimately stuck to the conclusion that there were no gaps in chemist provision in Surrey.

“There are lots of people who have challenges with accessing services but those barriers and drivers are probably not unique to pharmacies,” said Louis Hall, a public health consultant, expressing his own opinion.

He added: “It might be the same challenges with GPs, opticians, hospitals, post offices, shops. It is not so much a pharmacy issue necessary, but a health and care issue.”

Drafts of Surrey’s Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) – a legal document which looks at maps of where pharmacies are in Surrey, if there are any gaps and whether they need to be filled – found current provision to be sufficient.

The report’s conclusions come from evidence-based findings related to residents’ needs, pharmacy provision, consultation with residents and experts, according to the county council.

Using opening hours and transport times, public health officials looked at what are reasonable ways to access pharmacies across the county.

Research found it was acceptable for most people to be able to drive within 20 minutes to their nearest pharmacy, or walk between 20-30 minutes depending on the geography.

Unnecessary competition

“Structural funding in community pharmacies is not sufficient to keep the number of pharmacies that we currently have open and that is why we are seeing a number of closures because they are trading at a loss,” said Julia Powell, Chief Executive Officer for Community Pharmacy Surrey and Sussex.

Opening the market to other new chemists could dilute the funding further so the existing community pharmacies will have less funding and lead to more closures, the officials explained.

“Inappropriately” opening a pharmacy could create “unnecessary competition in a saturated market” which would not meet the needs of residents and could force other chemists to lose business.

Although this conclusion could potentially limit other pharmacies opening at the moment, NHS officials said potential contractors can apply on the basis of ‘unforeseen benefits’ which were not identified when the PNA was written.

Two new pharmacies were approved in Guildford as a result of this type of application, but this was partly due to other pharmacies closing down.

NHS and public health officials said they will continue to monitor if the need for pharmacies in Surrey changes.