There is no plaque outside Bassett Pharmacy in Southampton to indicate this was once run by the prime minister’s mother but there is a sign round the back that gives the game away: “Parking for Sunak Pharmacy customers.” Inside, the pharmacist Jithender Ballepu was expressing reservations about Rishi Sunak’s plans for chemist shops to provide prescriptions for millions of patients in England. “Already there is not enough funding for pharmacies,” said Ballepu, who has run the shop on Burgess Road for two years. “Pharmacies are facing a lot of pressure in terms of providing services. We are not able to cover the cost of providing enough colleagues. There have been so many pharmacies that have closed because of lack of funds. “We would need much more funding and definitely more staff to provide any new services. I would need another one full-time dispenser and whether you can get the staff depends if you are able to pay the right salary. We would need more trained colleagues.”
Ballepu said he was concerned staff could come under pressure to provide antibiotics when the ailments they had did not merit dispensing them. “People would have to be trained properly. In my opinion providing antibiotics over the counter is not a good idea because customers would get more pushy trying to get antibiotics. I think leaving the antibiotics with the GP would be a good idea. Contraceptives is fine – we have a protocol to follow. But customers could try to force pharmacists to provide them.” Ballepu said he was not against the principle of pharmacies being asked to take on more duties. “It’s a good idea to get more services for the pharmacies. It will take pressure off GPs. Patients are struggling to get GP appointments. We see them coming here when they can’t get appointments. But we need to make sure the funding is in place. That is my concern.” Sunak was born in the city, the son of a GP, Yashvir Sunak, while his mother ran Sunak Pharmacy from 1995. The family sold the business in 2014. When he ran to be prime minister Sunak told how he had worked at the chemist, helping his mother with her books.
On Tuesday, he was back in Southampton posing for pictures at Weston Lane surgery, five miles (8km) across the city from Bassett Pharmacy, where he had his blood pressure taken by the pharmacist Peter Baillie, a Conservative councillor. Baillie declared the prime minister “extremely fit”.