'Game over': Portishead pharmacist says shop closures mean industry struggles to cope with demand
Watch as residents share their frustrations about the pharmacy crisis with ITV News' Ken Goodwin
A pharmacist in Portishead says it's "game over" for the industry, as he struggles to cope with demand.
West Hill Pharmacy is the last remaining pharmacy in the town with the next nearest branch five miles away in Clevedon.
Since the closures of the LLoyds and Boots pharmacies in Portishead, staff are dispensing medicines to hundreds more customers.
The pharmacy was forced to close its doors for one day to cope with the backlog of prescriptions.
Queues of people pile up outside the pharmacy doors every morning with one resident saying its "disgusting".One person said: "We're cut off up here. People have got to travel if people are disabled or anything.
"They’ve got a job getting out and even when you’ve got a pharmacy, you can’t always get your prescriptions."
"It’s a disgrace a real disgrace - look at the queue", said another.
Pharmacy owner, Max Punni, said his pharmacy is set up for a "small population".
He said: "We’re doing the whole town and surrounding areas, and that level of work we weren’t designed for.
"We’ve had to buy out the Chinese restaurant next door just to give us more space so we can receive orders and actually have space to process them."
Max says the future of the industry is in doubt."It’s over, it’s game over. You’ll be getting your stuff dispensed by robots from a metal shed.
"You’ll be getting the medicines in a jiffy bag through the post and if you want to face-to-face consultation, good luck - that might be online and it might cost you."
The Company Chemists' Association says that over the last five years across England, there have been a net loss of 1,100 pharmacies including 115 lost in the South West.
According to the CEO, Malcolm Harrison, the financial situation of pharmacy businesses is in a "dire place".
He said: "Over the past 10 years there’s been a 30% real term cut in funding which is based on a lack of any increase in funding, but also increasing demands and workload is from the NHS."A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system and that’s why they are backed by £2.6 billion a year in government funding."We know that access to pharmacies remains generally good across the region, with 80% of people living within a 20-minute walk of a pharmacy."Mr Punni says he will continue working hard to serve the community, and hopes that expanding the property will help ease the strain, on him and his staff.