Local city and district councilors will ask Lincolnshire Co-op to reconsider plans to close the Winning Post Pharmacy on Carholme Road, Lincoln.
A date for the closure later this summer has yet to be set, but Lincolnshire Co-op previously said the pharmacy, which is located in the gas station, dispenses less than 2,100 items a month, far less than their average branches of 9,900 total.
Concerned local resident Emile van der Zee started a petition to save the pharmacy from closure, which now has more than 300 signatures. He also organized a demonstration for the pharmacy on Wednesday evening, June 29, including local residents.
‘Save our pharmacy’. † Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Labor councilor Neil Murray and Labor county councilor Rob Parker both attended the Carholme community forum on Tuesday evening, June 28, where the issue was discussed.
It was agreed that they would contact Lincolnshire Co-op to ask them to reconsider their plans to end the closure, or come up with a compromise, such as a trial period or shorter opening hours.
Councilor Robert Parker, who also chairs the Carholme Community Forum, said: The Lincolnite: “A number of people rely on the pharmacy. I know the numbers aren’t that high, but people still need it.
“I will write to them today (June 29) to ask them to reconsider. There may be a trial period with a lot of promotion to better publicize that the pharmacy is there and at risk to see if the numbers go up. The facilities available should be promoted better.
“There’s a lot of goodwill for Co-op in Lincolnshire and it’s popular, an important message they need to be reminded of.”
Local residents protested the closure. † Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
City Councilor Neil Murray added: “I spoke to them (Lincolnshire Co-op) yesterday to try and understand what the problem is and our chairman, Robert Parker, will ask them to think again. If more community members use it, would they prevent it from closing?
“We understand it hasn’t been busy enough commercially, but as a forum we have agreed to approach (Lincolnshire) Co-op to find a solution.
“It will be good if it can be kept open, because if you’re not that good, you obviously don’t want to travel too far from home.”
† Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
A map showing which pharmacies can be reached within a ten-minute walk. † Map: Jon Davies
The planned closure of the pharmacy will not lead to job losses or layoffs as employees will be transferred to other locations.
However, local resident and petitioner Emile van der Zee wanted to draw attention to the impact of the planned closure.
He put together a map showing which pharmacies can be reached within a 10-minute walk and how closing the Carholme Road facility would create a gap in local amenities.
He said: “More actions are planned, but whether they go ahead depends on (Lincolnshire) Co-op.
“If they give the councilors and me confirmation that the plans for closure will be withdrawn, I will gladly take no further action. But I’d love to work with them to see how they can better promote the existence of the local pharmacy – something they haven’t done in the last five years.”
† Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Lincolnshire Co-op plans to close its Winning Post Pharmacy on Carholme Road. † Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
A spokesperson for the Lincolnshire Co-op said: “We have been trying to make this pharmacy successful for a number of years. When we moved our old West Parade dispensary to the outlet in Carholme Road in 2017, we invested significantly in both service and marketing.
“The pharmacy had few prescriptions at the time and we hoped the move to a busy gas station would open up the service to more people.
“Unfortunately, it has not resulted in making the pharmacy more sustainable. We have been subsidizing the service for a number of years.
“Our average branch dispenses 9,900 items per month and our pharmacy in Carholme Road dispenses far less than this, 2,100 per month. These numbers, the proximity of our pharmacies in Burton Road and Newland, as well as pressures on the community pharmacies network, including funding, pay increases and recruitment difficulties for specialist colleagues, led to our decision to close the pharmacy this summer.
“There are options for our patients, including transferring their prescription to Newland or Burton Road pharmacies or our home delivery service, where patients order prescriptions in the usual way, and we aim to respond within three working days of receipt from GP practice. to deliver.”