Rugby MP Mark Pawsey is demanding that the local NHS take action to enable new pharmacies to open in Rugby
Rugby’s MP Mark Pawsey is calling on Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board and the Health and Wellbeing Board to take urgent steps to bring forward a review of the pharmacy coverage in Rugby, to enable new providers to come forward and meet the demand.
The availability of pharmacies in Rugby has declined in recent months, following the closure of Rowlands Pharmacy on Corporation Street and the decision of Lloyds Pharmacy to end its commercial arrangements with Sainsbury’s. Mark first raised his concerns in June 2023 with the Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board, the NHS body responsible for commissioning health services in Rugby, to urge them to review the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment for the town.
Since April 2023, the Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board has managed licensing arrangements for pharmacies within Rugby and without their approval, no new pharmacy can open, creating a roadblock for new pharmacy providers. Mark has previously raised the case of a provider wishing to establish a pharmacy in Houlton, to meet the demand created by the new housing there – but this application was refused on the basis of sufficient pharmacies in the Coventry and Warwickshire area. This assessment is conducted by the Health and Wellbeing Board, and was last done in October 2022, before a number of pharmacies in Rugby closed. Mark has challenged the Health and Wellbeing Board to conduct an urgent review of provision, specifically within the Rugby area, but so far this has not happened although the Health and Wellbeing Board has recently discussed the wider issue of community pharmacies.
Speaking about the need for the local NHS to respond to these issues, Mark said:
“It is clear to both me and my constituents that the lack of pharmacy capacity in Rugby, particularly in the town centre, is becoming untenable. Although it is a commercial decision for providers, the fact the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment has prevented one new pharmacy opening and clearly no longer reflects the availability of pharmacies in Rugby means that it needs to be reviewed urgently.”
Mark continued:
“I first raised this with the Chair of the Integrated Care Board and the Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board in 2023, but since then there has been a change in the availability of pharmacies in Rugby with increasing pressure being placed on existing pharmacies, whilst the town continues to expand. For this reason, it is vital that the Health and Wellbeing Board and the ICB take steps to review the level of service my constituents here in Rugby are receiving, and take steps to enable new pharmacists to come forward and help to meet demand.”