The Right Hon Yvette Cooper MP
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Department of Health and Social Care
39 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0EU 29 September 2026
Dear Secretary of State,
Rejection of reinstatement of Thames Ditton Community Pharmacy
We are writing on behalf of the residents of Thames Ditton to express our profound disappointment regarding the recent decision by Surrey & Sussex Integrated Care Board (ICB) to refuse the application to reopen our local pharmacy in Thames Ditton High Street.
The local community and the independent applicant do not have the funding ability to appeal this decision. So the purpose of us writing to you now is to express our serious concerns about the detrimental consequences to our community of the complex and bureaucratic application process and the inherent flaws in the ‘evidence’ used in the decision, based principally on the county wide Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) on which the decision by Surrey & Sussex Integrated Care Board (ICB) was based.
For decades, our village’s pharmacy has been a vital cornerstone of Thames Ditton, providing accessible healthcare, prescription services, and essential support to our elderly residents and families. Despite clear evidence of the need and support (a petition was signed by 1200 local residents in a matter of weeks) for the replacement of the village pharmacy, the Surrey and Sussex ICB continues to claim that there are ‘no gaps in pharmaceutical provision’.
While the ICB accepted that the unforeseen benefits claimed in the application had not been identified in the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment – that document was produced prior to the introduction of the NHS 10 year plan and Neighbourhood Plans strategy – nevertheless, the PNA’s conclusion that there were ‘no gaps in pharmaceutical provision’ in the whole of Surrey (despite more than 20 closures since 2020) was upheld by the committee, which met behind closed doors.
This decision is seen by local residents and the applicant as completely incomprehensible, incongruous and inconsistent with the stated objectives and strategy of the NHS 10-year Plan and the introduction of the Neighbourhood Health Framework. Furthermore, we contend that there are serious flaws and limitations both in the complexity of the bureaucratic, and consequently very costly application process, and in the decision making process itself. The consultation on new pharmaceutical applications does not give due consideration to the evidence of the local public or the wider clinical voice and opinion but favours existing providers. The decision making process itself lacks transparency and fairness and by failing to recognise or even consider the importance of basic core services being provided where they are most accessible to most people, fails to recognise the impact or contribution a well supported local community can make to reducing pressures on social and health services.
We urge the Department of Health and Social Care to review and revise the process by which decisions about the pharmaceutical lists are made and the criteria on which such decisions are based.
In the meantime the local community will continue to work towards the restoration of a pharmacy in the heart of our village, to ensure that local communities like ours are not left behind in the NHS’s strategic planning.
Yours sincerely,
Karen Randolph
Health and Community Convenor
Thames Ditton & Weston Green Residents’ Association.
Tricia Bland
Thames Ditton Foundation