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The owner of the only pharmacy on the Roseland peninsula in Cornwall who reduced its opening hours and services because of poor funding and has struggled to source medicines has warned it is a matter of time before a patient is seriously harmed as a result.

Faisel Baig (pictured), who owns St Mawes Pharmacy, told Independent Community Pharmacist many of his patients who are elderly and cannot get around easily are faced with a near 20-mile drive to the nearest pharmacy in Truro to get their medication when he cannot obtain it.

Baig, who revealed the journey to Truro includes a ferry trip, described the prospect of patient harm as “a ticking time bomb”. The Roseland peninsula has a population of about 4,000.

When asked if a patient who had to make the lengthy trip to Truro had fallen ill because they were unable to get their medicine straight away, he said: “To date, we've had no such incidents but add to the mix patients who don't realise how long it takes to prepare their prescription, even in the absence of these issues, and it is a situation that is untenable in the long term without further support.

“From time to time, patients need to source their medication from Truro which is 20 miles away by road as we cannot source it for them. This can be difficult for them if they have mobility issues and have no support. The community here is very elderly, so this is not uncommon.”

New contract gives rural pharmacies no extra funding

St Mawes Pharmacy operates on a local pharmaceutical services contract but had to reduce its opening hours last year because of a lack of revenue. Baig also had to cut his support staff’s hours and insisted he has not been able to afford to employ a locum.

“My time off is limited. It’s been a stressful time as initially, NHS England and (Cornwall and Isles of Scilly) integrated care board were happy to dissolve pharmacy services despite the next pharmacy being 20 miles by road. Eventually sense was seen and we continued at reduced hours.

“We no longer offer any free services. We gave up free deliveries and the MDS service where there was no disability need. The saved time is spent on private services such as a travel clinic and ear micro-suction.”

Baig was critical of the community pharmacy funding settlement for 2025-26 which he said was poorly designed and fails to support rural pharmacies like his own.

“It's a real shame this new contract only considers volume as a driver,” he said. “It presents no extra funding for rural pharmacies with lower volumes which need urgent funding to prevent pharmacy deserts appearing. I believe this was a situation the new funding model was aiming to avoid.”

My pharmacy has lost £14,000 in revenue

Baig said the increase in the national minimum wage has added £2,000 to his costs and his pharmacy has lost a total of £14,000 in revenue “even before adjusting for inflation at 2.5 per cent this year”.

Insisting he will contact NHS England over the issue, he said: “As a result of the new contract this year, I will lose out on £6,000 in pharmacy quality scheme (PQS) funds as my pharmacy does not meet the threshold of 1,800 items a month to qualify for the majority of the allocated funding.

“There was no PQS scheme last year, therefore the forecasted £6,000 from that year was lost. The new contract rewards volume pharmacies only. My new medicine service is capped at 10 and therefore presents no opportunity to benefit from further NHS services.

“It makes no sense that this is capped whilst at the same time, a threshold needs to be met to qualify for other payments like Pharmacy First.”

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