Letters: Wrong prescription for local healthcare - The Guardian 16th May 2008

One key aspect is missing in the discussion on polyclinics. Ara Darzi's dream for high-quality primary care services is purely GP-based. It does not take into account community pharmacy, which supplies the prescribed medication and helps the public with minor ailments and health advice. Community pharmacists will be particularly badly hit if these proposals go ahead because dispensing is closely aligned with prescribing. Most dispensing income is likely to be swallowed by the centralised pharmacies in polyclinics, leaving local chemists to struggle on selling over-the-counter medication and self-care products. As many as 70% of local pharmacies could face closure. With GP surgeries and chemists' premises empty, local communities will lose two more vital resources. Surely this conflicts with the government's healthy communities and sustainable communities targets? Where are the interests of the patients in all this?

Link to Article