00:00Forgive me. Liberal Democrat Spokesperson Helen Morgan.
00:02Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker.
00:04Can I first thank my honourable friend, the Member for West Dorset, for raising this appalling issue.
00:10Pharmacies are at the heart of our communities and they are relied upon by millions
00:14and they're under increasing pressure right across the country
00:17where we're seeing irregular opening hours and unforecast closures.
00:23Families living in communities that rely on jihouts, pharmacies,
00:26like those in the constituency of my honourable friend,
00:28and many other parts of the country will be deeply concerned that they and their loved ones
00:33are about to be left without medicines, potentially, that they desperately need
00:37while their staff have been placed in an intolerable situation.
00:41The National Pharmacy Association Chief Executive has said, as we've heard,
00:45that jihouts risk damaging the reputation of community pharmacies.
00:49The Government urgently needs to grip this issue
00:51and ensure that patients and the staff of these pharmacies are not being let down.
00:55So will the Minister and the Secretary of State agree to meet with all the members in this place
01:00whose communities are being affected by potential closures?
01:03Will he update the House at the earliest opportunity
01:05as to what steps he's taking to stabilise the crisis in community pharmacy across the country?
01:11And is he confident that ICBs, who are distracted by 50% cuts to their budgets,
01:17a top-down reorganisation, that they have the capacity to deal with this urgent situation
01:21as they head into planning for the next winter crisis?
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