Harriett Baldwin, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for West Worcestershire has been invited to Upton Surgery on Tunnel Hill next Thursday, October 2nd at 14:30 to receive a petition from hundreds of Worcestershire patients who fear the loss of their ability to pick up prescriptions at their GP surgery. GPs from two practices in Pershore will also travel to Upton-upon-Severn with petitions from hundreds of their patients.
If the government's proposed White Paper on dispensing GPs becomes law, local GPs may have to cut services and lay off staff, including possibly some nurses or doctors.
GPs in market towns and large villages across Worcestershire could fall foul of proposed new rules being consulted on by the Labour government. At the moment, if a patient lives more than 1 mile from a pharmacy, they can enjoy the convenience of picking up a prescription at their local GP. The new rule could state that if the GP practice is within 1 mile of a prescription pharmacy, the GP can no longer dispense. Therefore the main impact will be in market towns rather than in villages which do not have a pharmacy.
Harriett Baldwin said, "Sir Michael Spicer MP, Peter Luff MP and I have asked local people for their thoughts on the government's consultation. I welcome the petition from these three GP practices as it gives us a clear indication of the strength of feeling here in Worcestershire on this issue. If this change were to go through it would be yet another blow for patients living in rural areas near market towns. This is a law written by Whitehall bureaucrats who think one size fits all. Have they been to Upton-upon-Severn and seen that although it is under 1 mile from the new Tunnel Hill surgery to the town centre, the 1 mile would have to be done by car and parking is difficult near the town's chemist? Have they been to the Abbotswood practice in Pershore and seen what a long walk it would be for an elderly person in to town? Do they even understand how convenient it is for an elderly or disabled person to pick up their prescription in the same place as they see their GP? I thought that the NHS was trying to bring in more patient choice. Why can't patients choose whether to use their GP dispensary or their chemist?"