Public Support For Local Pharmacy
Three quarters (74%) of adults in Britain fear their community pharmacy may close if supermarkets open more in-store pharmacies -- according to a new MORI Social Research Institute survey.
The study, commissioned by Lloyds Pharmacy, reveals that four in five adults (79%) say it is important for a pharmacy to be close to their home or GP surgery. Currently, seven in 10 (72%) say their pharmacy is no more than half a mile from their GP surgery, and 45% say they have visited a pharmacy for a prescription for themselves or someone else in the past month.
When asked which factor is the most, or second most, important in deciding which chemist to use for prescription medicines, three in five (61%) say the pharmacy being close to their home, a far higher proportion than for any other factor.
Technical details
Interviews were conducted among a representative quota sample of 2,001 adults aged 15+ in GB. Interviews were conducted face-to-face, in-home from 20-25 February 2003. Data have been weighted to the known profile of the population.
Q Thinking about the last time that you went to a chemist or pharmacy to obtain prescription medicines, which one, if any, of these factors relating to the location of the pharmacy was most important to you in deciding which pharmacy to use? — Base: 1,351| % | |
|---|---|
| That the pharmacy was close to my GP / Surgery | 41 |
| That the pharmacy was close to my home | 39 |
| That the pharmacy was close to my place of work | 3 |
| That the pharmacy was close to where I generally do my weekly shopping | 12 |
| Other | 4 |
| None of these | 2 |
| Don't know | 0 |
Q Which one, if any, of the following factors would be most important to you personally overall in deciding which chemist or pharmacy to use for prescription medicines? By that I mean medicines that you obtain on a prescription from a doctor. In giving your answer, please include any particular service on the list which your chemist or pharmacy may not provide, but which you might like it to. — Base: 1,351
| % | |
|---|---|
| That the chemist/pharmacy is close to my home | 50 |
| That the chemist/pharmacy is close to my place of work | 3 |
| That the chemist/pharmacy offers health checks such as diabetes screening or blood pressure testing | 1 |
| That the chemist/ pharmacy has a private consultation area- | 1 |
| That the staff know me | 5 |
| That the staff are helpful | 5 |
| That the staff are knowledgeable | 7 |
| That I can have the prescription made up while I do other shopping | 5 |
| That I can buy my medicines cheaper than elsewhere | 1 |
| That the chemist/pharmacy is open longer hours than other places that dispense medicines | 4 |
| That the chemist/pharmacy offers collection and / or delivery services | 2 |
| That the service is quick | 5 |
| Ease of parking | 6 |
| None of these | 2 |
| Don't know | * |
Q Up to now we have been talking about going to pharmacies for medicines on prescription, but I'd now like to talk to you about going to pharmacies for all kinds of medicines, including over-the-counter medicines, where no prescription is needed, as well as prescription medicines. I'm now going to read out some statements and for each one I'd like you to tell me how strongly you agree or disagree with. — Base: 1,351
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