00:00Tight margins, anger at the government and fears of cutting services to survive.
00:05The story here at Hodgson's Pharmacy in Longfield is one playing out across the entire country,
00:12with the family owned business being one of more than 3,300 independent pharmacies to
00:19vote in favour of unprecedented industrial action.
00:24The National Pharmacy Association which ran the ballot is demanding an additional £1.7
00:30billion in funding annually to address financial pressures facing the sector, partially in
00:37response to a budget which saw minimum wage and national insurance tax contributions rise.
00:45It's got to a point now, the sector is broken. You're seeing one pharmacy a day on average
00:50close. In Kent we've seen roughly 20 pharmacies close already across the last year, year
00:55and a half. And that's nearly 10% of the pharmacies that were existing. So it's crunch point.
01:01We can't have any more pharmacies closing and putting patients at risk of not receiving
01:05the much needed healthcare that they get from the pharmacies.
01:09The action means that if the government doesn't provide more money, the way pharmacies operate
01:14in the county could change. For a start, pharmacies would be unlikely to open beyond
01:20the minimum hours required, particularly in the evening and at the weekends, while local
01:27services such as emergency contraception and addiction support could be axed. And for those
01:34here in Longfield reliant on their last remaining pharmacy, looming industrial action has left
01:41them worried.
01:42I was quite shocked to hear it. Obviously down in Longfield and the surrounding areas
01:48we've just got this one pharmacy now. So to reduce the hours would be really difficult.
01:57I think it's terrible.
01:59We need the chemists more than ever because of the lack of doctors that we can see. They
02:05are very helpful and they can give us some professional advice.
02:10And they get to know us too, because we're all on this living road.
02:13You can't get a doctor's appointment. So quite often we'll go as our first protocol to our
02:18pharmacist. We rely on them. And if the pharmacists are going to be closed, then it's going to
02:23impact on us getting that medical treatment that we might need.
02:26The government say that community pharmacies have a vital role to play in their 10 year
02:32health plan, blaming the system they inherited and stating they are committed to working
02:38the sector to come to a solution. But for independent pharmacies like Hodgson's, a failure
02:45to commit to additional support would be a bitter pill to swallow.
02:50Oliver Leader, The Sat for KMTV in Longfield.
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