Luton pharmacy defends new £5 charge to deliver medication to housebound patients

Calverton Pharmacy, in Limbury, sent a letter to patients explaining that it would now be charging £5 per medication delivery, starting in April.

The letter stated that due to National Insurance going up, the pharmacy has been forced to charge those patients who cannot collect their medications, an extra cost.

It says its hand has been forced due to “severe financial pressure” caused by a decade of underfunding.

One affected patient said: “It's a fabulous chemist, and I do understand they need the funding. I even signed the petition to keep chemists open, but I was absolutely astounded when I had my monthly delivery of my medication, and the driver handed me a letter.

“I'm absolutely furious over this, and I'm sure other people are as well. They're coming out to give us the injections and not charging us, but when we want our medication delivered, we've got to pay for it. That just doesn't make any sense, does it?”

The pharmacy stated that it “wasn’t a decision that was taken lightly”.

A spokesperson for Calverton Pharmacy explained: “Like many other independent pharmacies, we are facing severe financial pressure due to 10 years of underfunding.”

They said that with staffing costs, energy bills and prices of medicines increasing, “Calverton is no exception to the financial pressures in the industry”.

From now on, housebound patients will need to pay £35 for 6 months or £60 for a year to get their prescription delivered to their doors.

The spokesperson added: “We have been providing a free delivery service as a gesture of goodwill to support the elderly and housebound.

“It must be noted that the delivery service isn’t funded by the NHS [but administering Covid and flu vaccinations at home for eligible housebound patients is]. The government cannot expect us to continue running our pharmacy without proper funding. We cannot provide essential NHS services while being starved of the resources we need to survive.”

Currently, no cheques are accepted to pay for the deliveries and cards can only be used in-store.

The spokesperson added: “Our card machine cannot take remote payments, hence card payment needs to be made in-store. Alternative options are for cash payments to the driver or via BACS transfer. If paid by cash, the driver gives a stamped ticket to show the payment.”

The patient, who is in their 80s, said: “Why is it just one pharmacy in Luton that is going to charge their clients for delivery of medication?”

“I told them: ‘I'm housebound. I cannot get up to your shop. If I was able to get to your shop, I wouldn't be paying you to hand me my medication.’”