Residents in Budleigh Salterton are struggling to collect prescribed medications due to staff shortages at the two Lloyds pharmacies in Budleigh High Street.

 

For the past year, both the Lloyds Pharmacy have been opening with restricted hours. There are occasions when one or other pharmacy is open but sometimes customers have to queue outside the shop.

 

Sue Lake, chairman of the local Patients Participation Group, (PPG) said: "We have been pressing Lloyds, the NHS and other stakeholders for the past twelve months because the PPG is concerned about patients and whether or not Lloyds are meeting the terms of their two dispensing licenses.

"The PPG continues to be involved in continuing NHS discussions but the current situation of having to queue outside the shop to wait to be served on the pavement is just not appropriate, especially, with the onset of winter."

 

 A spokesman for Lloyds Pharmacy said: "Verbal abuse from customers is cited as a contributing factor to three managers leaving over two months. The pharmacies have not been able to be open every day because there is a national shortage of locum pharmacists and also, they have not been able to recruit and train retail staff."

 

Many residents of Budleigh and surrounding villages are moving their prescriptions to pharmacies in Exmouth, some offer a delivery service. However, the PPG believe that the best option would be for our town to have two pharmacies which are trusted and reliable to provide a much-needed dispensing service.

 

Chris Kitson, member of the PPG, told the Journal: "The lack of reliable trading hours are very worrying to residents who make a journey to Town to collect their medication only to find the shops closed or that their medications are not available as the staff have not had time to unpack the deliveries from the Lloyds central warehouse near Bristol. This unacceptable level of service is also placing our Medical Centre under additional strain as they have to deal with patient requests to try and help them obtain their medications."

 

"The PPG fail to see why Lloyds insist upon running two pharmacies in the town, surely it would make sense to run one business effectively rather than two very poor There is little evidence of resource management or support to the clearly over stretched staff. The strain their staff are under is unfair as they are in the front line trying to achieve the impossible."

 

Residents who wish to complain about the service email customer services@lloydspharmacy.co.uk or england.contactus@nhs.net starting the email with I wish to complain.