A businessman insists his pharmacy is not closing despite staff redundancies

Tom McCullough, owner of Haydon Bridge Pharmacy has confirmed it is not closing after several staff were made redundant. The news of the redundancy worried local residents about the businesses' future.

Tom has owned the business for 15 years and is hoping to continue to keep a pharmacy, that has been there for over 60 years, in the village for years to come.

He said: "The pharmacy is not closing. We have had to realign our staff management as we increased our members of staff but have not seen any increase in trade. Therefore, something had to be done.

"By doing this - we have avoided any future crisis, as it could have damaged the company more if we did not act upon it.

"I would like to reassure our customers that the pharmacy is open as usual, we are still delivering free of charge.

"The pharmacy industry as a whole is struggling due to the cut in funding."

Currently there is a campaign to help save pharmacies after many are facing closure as the government refuses to cover the £370m cost of staying open through the COVID crisis. This was a financial blow of £32,000 per pharmacy.

To find out more information click here

To find out more information click here