A community pharmacist has encouraged the public to try and persuade their MPs across England to attend a parliamentary meeting this month hosted by the All-Party Pharmacy Group which will examine how community pharmacies can be supported.

Mike Hewitson (pictured), who runs Beaminster Pharmacy in Dorset and is a Liberal Democrat councillor at Somerset Council, made his plea when updating a petition he launched to stop violence against pharmacy staff. The APPG event is on September 19.

The petition takes visitors to a link which asks them to enter their postcode before bringing up the name of their local MP. A template letter on behalf of the visitor then appears asking the MP to attend the event.

The letter, which warns that “at least” 720 community pharmacies have closed since 2015 and “many more are under the threat of closure,” tells the MP the event “will invite stakeholders from across the pharmacy sector to share their views on the future of pharmacy and what steps need to be taken to help the pharmacy teams.”

“At the event, you will have the opportunity to hear from frontline pharmacists about the huge potential and solutions pharmacies have to help the NHS if given the proper support and funding,” it says.