After a million users of our pharmacies in the UK signed to stop the cuts to their services, the Prime Minister in response to a PMQ asked by a MP, that rural pharmacies should be protected. However he neglected to mention the fate of urban pharmacies in our towns and cities which is cause for concern. 

During the recent campaign for the Mayor & London Assembly l went along to my local pharmacy along Church St with soon to be Councillor Aicha Less, the Market Chemists ably run by Shiraz Mohammed, seeing first hand the excellent services run by the pharmacy over and above just drugs over a counter. Here l was told of the impact of the 6 per cent cut in the NHS for pharmacies by Rekha Shah and how the clustering argument maybe used to take away the services we have along Church Street market, having an disproportionate impact on London. 

The Prime Minister has expressed sympathy towards rural pharmacies, but I hope it isn’t at the expense of urban pharmacies we depend on. Some of them are clustered centrally, but that shouldn’t make the government think they aren’t valuable.

So while the government’s commitment to protect rural pharmacies is good news, it has remained silent on those operating in some of the most vulnerable urban communities.

I trust an elected London politician will take up their cause asap now that l am no longer at City Hall and in particular the Mayor of London.