Hastings pharmacy to be second to close this month

A Hastings pharmacy will be closing before the end of year, affecting residents of the Old Town as well as five members of staff.
LloydsPharmacy, in Hastings, will close on December 31. Picture: GoogleLloydsPharmacy, in Hastings, will close on December 31. Picture: Google
LloydsPharmacy, in Hastings, will close on December 31. Picture: Google

LloydsPharmacy, which is adjacent to the Hastings Old Town Surgery, in High Street, Hastings will close on December 31.

The decision will see a number of staff being made redundant, while housebound patients will lose their free prescription delivery service.

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The announcement comes after the LloydsPharmacy in Sedlescombe Road North closed on Monday (December 9).

A spokesman for LloydsPharmacy said: “We can confirm that the LloydsPharmacy store on High Street in Hastings will close on 31 December.

“This decision has been made because of increasing financial pressures, including business rates and changes to pharmacy funding.

“We fully understand the impact that such changes can have on local communities, especially for people that have been our customers for a long period of time.

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“As part of our decision-making process, we have looked at other community pharmacy provision in the area, with a view to mitigating the impact on patients as much as possible.

“We will be taking every opportunity to direct patients to other community pharmacies in the area and to support a smooth transition to facilitate an uninterrupted service.

“We will also be supporting colleagues at this difficult time and redeploying members of the team, where possible, to other LloydsPharmacy locations where vacancies exist.”

Katie Ballard, an employee at LloydsPharmacy, said the closure was distressing at any time ‘but at Christmas it is a whole lot worse’.

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She added: “The Old Town community are appalled that they are losing their pharmacy. We are adjacent to the Hastings Old Town Surgery and many of the surgery’s patients use us regularly for convenience and advice. Our housebound patients will now also be losing their free prescription delivery service.”

A petition has been set up to support the NHS in granting a licence for a new pharmacy within the new location of the surgery when it moves to Ice House, in Rock-a-Nore Road.

It is currently available to sign in the Old Town Surgery and pharmacy.

Katie said many patients have also offered to write letters of support to this proposal.

Will you be affected by the LloydsPharmacy closure? Please email [email protected].

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