As you will know we have been backing the NPA pharmacy campaign to oppose the pharmacy funding cuts announced just before Christmas. The campaign has several parts to it. We recently focused on the downing street petition. We have now learned that is gaining momentum and has now got over 500,000 signatures!!! This is a fantastic success however we need to keep it up. Make sure you have your petitions out and ensure you fax them back to the NPA as soon as each page is full.
MP Campaign Cards
Another element to the pharmacy campaign is the MP campaign cards. These cards are essentially a letter from a constituent to their MP. You can give these to your patients to send to their MP's. If we can fill the local MP's mailbag with letters from patients it will highlight the campaign to them and make the strength of feeling felt. This will hopefully encourage them to act by asking questions in parliament or taking part in any parliamentary debates.
1. Pharmacies in Gateshead & South Tyneside will have already received a pack of 50 Cards however you can order more by clicking here. Please note you do not need to be a NPA member to order cards.
2. Place the cards on your counter (perhaps next to the petition).
3. Brief your staff that the card just needs the patient to fill in their name and address. When speaking to patients staff can highlight that the petition is going to Downing street and the card is going to their local MP.
4. Collect the cards and use our resource page to find out who the local MP is. Fill in the MP details on the card then post off the cards to the MP.
5. The card asks the MP to write back to the patient / customer with their views.
6. By filling the MP's mail bags with these cards will indicate the strength of feeling about the issue.
It is really important to make our voice heard so please get behind the campaign. You may find that an MP contacts you to discuss the issue. You can find some resources on our website to help you discuss the issues with the MP. You may wish to also tell them that their is a parliamentary debate on the 14th April that they may like to attend.
For more details of other things you can do please visit our webpage. http://www.gandstlpc.net/whattodo.html and keep an eye out for further communications as the campaign develops.
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