‘Worrying news’ as high street pharmacy chain with 150 chemists to close another store
AN MP has branded the closure of a local pharmacy in her constituency "worrying news".
Peak Pharmacy has marked its Great Malvern store on Church Street for closure.
The chemist will close for the final time on February 29 and will come just months after Boots exited the area.
It means that Great Malvern in Worcestershire will lose its only remaining chemist early next year.
West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin told the Malvern Gazette: "This is worrying news for people who rely on a chemists' shop in the centre of Great Malvern and I'm disappointed that this is the second pharmacy to exit Church Street in a year.
"Peak Pharmacy has written to me to confirm the news and explain their decision.
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"I have reached out to the body responsible for managing Worcestershire's pharmacy provision to see what we can do to find a replacement plan.
"I have formally asked for a review on whether there is adequate coverage for the town and I will keep a close eye on this matter as we move towards a full closure of the pharmacy next year.";
Councillor Beverley Nielsen, Malvern Hills District Council economic development and tourism portfolio holder, said: "It is a real loss to Great Malvern that soon there's the possibility we won’t have a local chemist based in the town.
Peak Pharmacy was founded in 1981 and is based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
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It has grown via merger and acquisition from a single pharmacy into the business it is today with over 150 pharmacies and an online pharmacy.
But like its larger competitors, Peak Pharmacy has been forced to close several pharmacies in recent months.
Boots previously announced that it would be closing 300 shops over the next year, leading to a string of closures in 2023.
This will see the retailer's total shops reduced from 2,200 to 1,900.
We've previously listed some of the stores affected.
The owner of Lloyds Pharmacy has recently exited the high street pharmacy business.
Hallo Healthcare Group, a subsidiary of investment group Aurelius, has sold all 1,054 high street and community pharmacies under the Lloyds Pharmacy branding.
Community pharmacies are essential for providing services to local neighbourhoods but hundreds have been shut in recent years.
But pharmacies have struggled financially for years due to the level of reimbursements they receive from the NHS and the soaring costs of pharmaceuticals.
Chemist chains are also being asked to pick up the slack from the struggling health service by providing more services, such as vaccinations.
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The pharmacy industry has lost £1.6 billion in the last decade because the NHS's pharmacy contract has not kept pace with inflation.
Chemists have said that as a result, they face a massive cut to their real-term funding, which is resulting in mass closures.