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Championing Local Pharmacies in Newbury and West Berkshire
In Parliament last week, I championed the role of local pharmacies in communities across Newbury and West Berkshire.
Our 12 local pharmacies are an indispensable part of healthcare in Newbury and West Berkshire. Together, they dispense more than 111,000 prescriptions each month and have delivered enough Pharmacy First consultations to save more than 8,000 GP appointments, helping patients get care closer to home and easing pressure on local GP services.
More than that, in the push towards primary and preventative care, they serve as a front door to the NHS right on our high streets. For constituents, particularly older residents, that timely, personable, and specialist point of contact is invaluable.
Alongside that praise, I issued a firm call for greater support from the Government.
A spiralling series of problems over the past decade has left many pharmacies on the brink, with funding shortfalls, workforce shortages, and rocketing medicine prices contributing to the loss of over 1,300 pharmacies since 2016.
This alarming combination of pressures is being felt across the country, but in Newbury and West Berkshire, the challenge is particularly acute.
The National Pharmacy Association has described West Berkshire as England’s “pharmacy desert,” with the lowest number of pharmacies per head of any council area. With sparse rural populations that need to travel further and are faced with limited public transport, access to local pharmacy services is essential.
Whether it is soaring medicine prices eating into already tight margins or one-year funding settlements that deny pharmacies the certainty needed to plan for the future, more must be done. The Independent Pharmacies Association estimates, that even with the 10.3% uplift in funding for 2026/2027, each pharmacy still faces a £56,000 shortfall.
As the Government rightly moves care from the hospital into communities, and pharmacies are being asked to take on more responsibilities, the potential is immense. However, sustainable investment must match that ambition.
As Vice Chair of the Pharmacy APPG, I will continue making that case and stand up for our local pharmacies that serve the thousands of patients across Newbury and West Berkshire every day.
Full Hansard debate: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2026-09-09/debates/EAB97866-E7DF-4C15-BAD6-9427D157BD71/PharmaciesGovernmentFunding#contribution-668DF609-AC40-4FE6-800F-8E45A37B336B
