Pharmacy chain heavily criticised for service to the town as queues head into the streets of Towcester

The ongoing problems with the pharmacy services to Towcester are on the increase as the local Lloyds are closing early, not able to fill prescriptions and residents are seeing huge queues out onto the streets.

Both the Brook Health Centre and Watling Street Lloyds Pharmacies have been the target of complaints by the community recently, as customers have had no option but to find alternative places out of town to get medication.

Residents have been regularly reporting issues with the pharmacy services since November 2022.

Some have been getting in touch with Lloyds CEO themselves and others have suggested MP Andrea Leadsom step in, but ongoing problems are not being addressed.

The opening hours have been reported to be unreliable where the service would be closed with no warning. There have been reports of huge queues on the street, with pharmacy staff actually coming out to close the queue to prevent others joining.

Towcester residents have said that they have resorted to online pharmacy services elsewhere and others are driving to other towns to get prescriptions filled.

One Facebook user has started going to another pharmacy and said: “I went to Tesco in Northampton, a staff member asked me what was happening in Towcester as it was getting so many people in from Towcester recently.”

Although many can go out of town to get prescriptions, it’s not so easy for others with the increasing cost of taxis and a reduction in bus services.

Facebook users have said: ‘Having it dispensed elsewhere is another good idea but some folk don't have the means to get there,’ and ‘are we really telling OAP's to get on a bus or take a taxi to Northampton to pick up a prescription?”

Chantel Bradley told the Chronicle and Echo of her experience with Lloyds.

She said: “Thankfully I normally order my medication about 2 weeks before I run out as I knew it could take some time for Lloyds to get the prescription ready. After a week of my request for my repeat prescription I went to collect it however they were shut, with no sign to say why they were closed. I waited and returned two days later where there was a queue of about 10 people waiting outside with five inside. By this time I was going to be running out of medication so I had no option but to wait.

“It was just before 1pm when I arrived. As it got closer to 2pm I started getting anxious as I had a meeting at work to get back to. I was also getting stressed out with time away from my desk. At 2pm I had to message my boss to say I wouldn’t be able to get back for the meeting and had to explain why.

“It was cold and everyone was standing shivering outside waiting to just get inside. By then there were another 15-20 people behind me.

“By 2.30pm I actually got into the pharmacy and at this point I was getting worried about time as it was fast approaching school pick up time for my son. Whilst I was there one customer inside, who had been waiting 2 hours, was told by the assistant there wasn’t a prescription for him. He got really angry and stormed off.

“My name was called just after 3pm where I was told they didn’t have all the items on my prescription. I just had to accept what they had and raced off to pick my son up from school.”

Chantel was then told she would have to wait another 72 hours for a re-issue of the prescription of the missing items if she wanted to use a different pharmacy so decided to go back to Lloyds to try again. The customer at the back of the queue told her that the queue was closed and no one else could join.

Chantel added: “You could see that the staff were stressed out and overworked. I know one person who hadn't stopped for a break all day. The entire time I had been in the queue the phone didn’t stop ringing and no one answered it.”

When Lloyds Pharmacy was approached for a comment about Watling Street pharmacy, a spokesperson said: “As is expected during this time of year, there is an increasing demand for community health services.

"As a result, our Lloyds Pharmacy on Watling Street branch has been increasingly busy, and sometimes our patients have had to wait longer than usual.

"We apologise sincerely for this and appreciate their patience during this time. Nevertheless, we can confirm that the store is operating as usual and we are working hard to ensure our pharmacy provision meets the local community’s ongoing needs.”

When Lloyds Pharmacy was approached for a comment about the Brook Health Centre pharmacy, a spokesperson said: “LloydsPharmacy in Towcester Brook Health Centre Pharmacy has recently experienced longer queues and disruptions to its services. This has been caused by staff shortages and sickness absence, during a time when there is an increasing demand for community health services. Currently there is significant pressure on community pharmacy across the UK due to sector-wide workforce issues. These are not unique to LloydsPharmacy. Nevertheless, we would like to sincerely apologise to our customers and patients for any inconvenience this may have caused and are grateful for their patience during this time.

“Despite these significant challenges, our team is working hard to ensure our patients in Towcester can still access the care they need. We would like to reassure the residents that we take our responsibility towards the local community very seriously and we are working very hard to ensure that our pharmacy provision meets the local community’s ongoing needs.