pharmacy

Prof Arwyn Tomos Jones from Cardiff University's School of Pharmacy said the process of producing the drug was costly.

Pharmacy owners in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have voted in favour of cutting opening hours and stopping home deliveries for the first time, in a protest over government funding.

NPA chairman Nick Kaye said the ballot result "overwhelmingly shows the sheer anger and frustration of pharmacy owners at a decade of cuts that is forcing dedicated health professionals to shut their doors for good".

He said he cared deeply about his patients - like other pharmacy teams - but he has never experienced a situation as desperate as this.

The Pharmacy First service, launched in January in England, extended the range of services chemists can provide, including treatment of sinusitis, earache and shingles.