ANGRY Labour city councillors have slammed proposed Government cuts to community pharmacies and claimed the move will pile more pressure on the NHS locally.
Deputy leader Coun Joy Squires spoke out against the cutbacks which will see 12 per cent of Government funding axed this year and a further 7.5 per cent the year after.
Speaking in support of a motion at a meeting at Worcester City Council last Tuesday (November 22), Coun Squires called for the authority to write to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to voice their opposition to the proposals.
“Community pharmacies are at the very frontline in relieving pressure on our struggling NHS,” she said.
“I know from my own personal experience of a relative being cared for at home how important a community pharmacy is.
“We need to voice our opinions and ensure local pharmacies remain at the heart of the communities they serve,” she added.
The proposal was seconded by Labour councillor and Mayoress Coun Lynn Denham who shared details of her daugher’s visit to a pharmacy which solved an eye problem with no need for her to go to her GP.
Conservative councillor Andy Roberts said he didn’t disagree with the motion but requested the matter be investigated by the Health, Overview and Scrunity Board at County Hall.
Conservative group leader, Coun Marc Bayliss said pharmacies had grown by 18 per cent over the last decade and national investment in them up 40 per cent to £2.8billion.
“The Government is making changes in the funding given out nationwide to promote sustainable pharmacies,” he said.
“Every penny saved in this reform will be invested into the NHS,” he said.
All 16 Labour councillors voted to support the motion as did both Green Party members while the Conservatives abstained.
