St Ives pharmacy struggling to meet demand after being left town's only chemist

  • Pharmacist Chris Naidu told ITV News' Kathy Wardle his pharmacy is facing "increasing pressure"

A pharmacy in St Ives has said it is struggling to meet demand, now it is the only chemist left in the town.

Leddra Chemist has been open for 120 years and has 11 branches across the West Country.

Owner Chris Naidu is calling for more government support, so he can expand his pharmacy services with longer weekend opening hours.

The government said it is working to expand the role of pharmarcies and make the best use of pharmacists' skills. Mr Naidu told ITV News: "We are concerned, we've got additional pressure but not necessarily increasing profitability.

"I'm having to find more staff because there is increasing pressure, plus we've got the influx of tourists. It's very daunting to get the staffing and the funding for staffing."

Leddra Chemist is Cornwall's oldest chemist. Credit: ITV News

His comments follow the closure of the only other pharmacy in the town, the Boots branch inside the nearby Stennack GP Surgery on 19th July.Boots announced a store consolidation programme in June last year, closing some stores that are within close proximity to others. Up to 650 branches are expected to shut.

In July 2019, the government's Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) set out a five-year deal for community pharmacies, guaranteeing funding levels until 2023/24. It provides £2.59 billion of funding, annually, to fund NHS pharmacy services in England.

In 2023, Community Pharmacy England called for an “urgent uplift” in CPCF funding to “help businesses to cope with soaring costs being driven by inflation and the workforce crisis”.

It also criticised the DHSC and NHS England for refusing “to move away from the five-year CPCF deal, despite the overwhelming evidence of the current economic pressures”.The newly elected St Ives MP Andrew George told ITV News reviewing the next period of pharmacy funding is a priority.He said: “We do need to make sure that we're supporting our pharmacists and supporting the companies that provide those services.

"Seeing them close at the level they have done in in recent months is greatly concerning, so I’ll be raising that with ministers.”