A GROUP of Bury councillors has written to the secretary of state to raise concerns over proposed Government cuts to community pharmacies.

At a recent meeting of Bury’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, members discussed the proposals by Jeremy Hunt MP and the Department of Health to cut spending on pharmacies in 2016 to 2017 by four per cent to £2.687bn, and by a further 3.4 per cent in 2017 to 2018 to £2.592bn.

The committee heard from partners working in pharmacy who reported that, if the intention of the Department of Health was fully executed, up to one in four community pharmacies across the borough could be forced to close.

Councillor Trevor Holt, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, is one of the councillors who signed the letter. He said in the letter: “Pharmacy provides a crucial network, highly valued by patients, that makes huge differences to their health, I urge you to reconsider your proposals and reverse the proposed cuts to community pharmacy budgets.

“Community pharmacy provides vital services to help patients with long term conditions in the community setting.

“The community pharmacy is the most accessible of healthcare services, available seven days a week and out of hours.”

Mr Holt said pharmacies allow people to access the services of a healthcare professional without an appointment and at a time that is convenient.

The support provided ensures that people can self-care and receive vital advice on minor ailments, helping to relieve pressure from overstretched GP services, out of hours clinics, A&E and hospitals, he said.

Councillor Rishi Shori, leader of Bury Council, said Mr Hunt’s proposed cuts were short-sighted and “very concerning”.

He added: “Residents are told on a daily basis that they should look for alternatives to going to see their GP or visiting A&E to avoid putting more pressure on an already stretched NHS system – one such avenue is seeing your local pharmacist.

“If there are closures of local pharmacies combined with the proposed closure of walk-in centres in Bury and Prestwich this will leave residents in the borough incredibly short of options in terms of having their healthcare needs met.

“The proposals are unacceptable.”