In a letter to the public health minister, John Maples, MP for Stratford-upon-Avon, raised serious objections to the proposed changes to rural dispensing pharmacies saying that they would compromise "quality of care, freedom of choice and cost-effectiveness."
"Dispensing GP practices in our area provide an excellent and convenient service which patients like. Freedom of choice has been emphasised in government health policy and yet this measure seems to run counter to everything we’ve heard. As a strong believer in consumer choice and provider competition, I don’t see why the government would want to restrict this."
John Maples added that the extra money earned from providing dispensing services is often channelled back into the community, "These practices provide more than just primary care facilities. Extra money has been reinvested in community services with the setting up of Citizens Advice Bureau services in medical centres, provision of transport services for patients from nearby villages to reach practices and support for local transport facilities. These enhanced services and quality of care would be jeopardised by proposed changes."
John Maples added that such a ruling was yet another assault on rural life, "I have been inundated with letters and emails from patients objecting to these proposed changes and I wholly support them. There is a risk that many patients from rural villages could lose access to the most convenient service for them, including arrangements in villages for local collection of prescriptions. Such a measure is just unacceptable."