The government has been urged to reopen a pharmacy in Devon with the local MP saying the local community has been ‘sorely impacted’ by its closure.
Caroline Voaden, MP for South Devon, told the House of Commons that a petition has been signed by over 3,000 residents calling for the Leatside Pharmacy to be reopened. Voaden revelead that she is a patient at Leatside GP surgery where the pharmacy was based.
“Since the closure, many residents have faced longer waiting times and struggled to obtain prescriptions and advice, and the surgery has been sorely impacted by the loss,” she said.
“A separate petition on change.org has gathered over 3,000 signatures, representing the strength of local feeling. Both constituents and doctors have contacted me to express the urgent need for a pharmacy at the surgery to support its work and local health needs.”
Voaden revelead that the pharmacy’s closure had significantly impacted local access to essential NHS pharmacy services. And that many residents—especially older people and those with mobility challenges—now face increased travel distances and longer waiting times to access prescriptions and pharmacy advice.
“The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to work with NHS England to prioritise the reopening of a pharmacy at Leatside GP Surgery to ensure timely, accessible, and reliable pharmaceutical care for the residents of Totnes,” read the petition.
Last month, Voaden told the Totnes Times that there needed to be rural exceptions to the pharmacy funding model, warning that the existing system risked creating pharmacy deserts in places like South Devon.
“When I speak with pharmacy owners in South Devon, a consistent, concerning message emerges: the current funding model is failing rural areas. It’s clear this system was designed with urban centres in mind. This pattern is all too familiar, with rural services repeatedly struggling under systems that overlook their specific challenges,” she said.
“The closure of a small-town pharmacy has serious ramifications. Accessing essential advice and medication becomes incredibly difficult, given the already poor state of rural transport. The outcry over Leatside Pharmacy's closure in Totnes clearly demonstrates the depth of this issue.
“Rural Britain already grapples with dental deserts. My concern is that unless exceptions to the funding model are quickly introduced, pharmacy deserts may also become an unfortunate reality.”
The government has yet to respond to the petition.
