PATIENTS at a Stoke Prior surgery could face losing the whole of their GP service if the dispensary is closed.

They learned of the possibility from a notice in the Ryfields Road surgery.

One patient, Mrs Scoffield, said: “As an elderly long-term disabled person with no car, I would find it extremely difficult to have to rely on a Bromsgrove source for my many prescriptions and blood tests.

“I cannot travel by bus, my family work long hours so cannot always be available for me and if I could afford to use a taxi service, I still have to get to the pharmacy despite being unable to walk more than a few yards.

“Added to which I would not have a pharmacist who knows me and my condition and whom I know and can trust when I have a problem with my pills. Now my husband has become an invalid, which adds to our problems.” A spokesman for Worcestershire PCT explained that it was all to do with a Department of Health consultation on pharmaceutical services across England, which depends on where people live in relation to a pharmacy.

Ryefield’s dispensary, which helps fund the support of the surgery, would not normally be effected, as the surgery is nowhere near a chemist, but because it is a branch of the Davenal House Practice in Bromsgrove, it is under threat. MP Julie Kirkbride is now taking up the case with the government. “This seems totally bizarre. I see no reason at all why Stoke Prior, and other village pharmacies should lose them,” she said.

The doctors at Davenal House Surgery said: “We oppose government proposals to change the rules regarding dispensing to prevent us from dispensing as widely as we do. We feel our ability to dispense to people in the rural area is greatly to their benefit and helps financially to support the existence of a branch surgery.”

A spokesman for the PCT said: “We will be bound by the outcome of any regulatory changes that may be implemented as a result of these consultations. Prior to this, we will continue to promote and support good practice with regard to pharmaceutical service, whether this is provided from a pharmacy or a dispensing practice.

“Following the implementation of any changes to pharmaceutical contracting, the PCT will need to ensure that all patients have access to quality services. If there are shortfalls identified in provision of pharmaceutical services, these will be outlined in our pharmaceutical needs assessment, as well as any actions that need to be taken to address these shortfalls.”