Owner Evi Kumurdzi fears that, without the NHS Pharmacy contract changing soon, she will have to close her pharmacy within a few months
Tubbs Pharmacy in Newton Ferrers is on the brink of closure as its owner has been forced to dip into personal savings to offset the costs of prescriptions due to NHS funding cuts.
Rebecca Smith, Conservative MP for South West Devon, has launched a petition to save the pharmacy, which serves more than 1,300 patients from the villages of Newton Ferrers and Noss Mayo.
She has called on the new government to ensure that the NHS funding pharmacists receive for prescriptions matches their cost.
Evi Kumurdzi, the pharmacist and owner of Newton Ferrers Pharmacy, who operates the pharmacy with the support of just two colleagues, has conveyed to the MP her fear that without imminent changes to the NHS Pharmacy contract, she may have to close her pharmacy within months.
Despite the clear need for her medical service in the community, Kumurdzi has to use her own money to subsidise the cost of prescriptions.
Like many pharmacists, she often sells a significant portion of the medications she purchases at a loss. For example, she incurs a loss of 93p on each packet of blood thinner she sells.
When the South West Devon MP was made aware by constituents that the pharmacy was facing closure, she made it a priority to visit it in the New Year.
Smith has long been a supporter of community pharmacies, spending time at many chemists in and around the constituency. She noted that the situation has never been this dire.
“I saw for myself how busy the pharmacy is,” the MP said about Tubbs Pharmacy, noting that many of Kumurdzi's loyal customers are elderly and have described her care in the community as a lifeline.
Smith emphasised that South West Devon alone has 14 pharmacies, each facing similar challenges.
“Pharmacists should not be out of pocket for the vital services they provide in our community,” she argued.
The MP warned that the closure of these pharmacies would “leave many isolated and only move the problem along to GPs, adding further pressure on NHS waiting lists.”
Smith's petition calls for fair funding for pharmacists and encourages the community to support the cause by signing the petition to help save Newton Ferrers Pharmacy.
