Portland residents have been urged to attend a meeting to decide action on the closure of a pharmacy.

Portland Town Council will be holding a public meeting on Friday, January 19 at 7.00pm, at the Portland Community Venue.

The meeting is about the upcoming closure of Boots Pharmacy in Fortuneswell on February 17. The pharmacy is one of just two on the island of 14,000 people.

News of the reported closure has worried residents of Portland, who question whether the Easton pharmacy would be able to handle the increased demand.

Invitees will include representatives from the NHS, the Integrated Care Board, Dorset Council, Royal Manor Healthcare Centre and Richard Drax, MP.

The Mayor of Portland, Cllr Carralyn Parkes, said in a previous statement to the Echo that she is worried about the proposals and will campaign against the closure.

Cllr Carralyn Parkes said: "It is vitally important for people to attend. I encourage everyone on the island to come because this decision is going to affect not only people in Fortuneswell but everyone on Portland.

"We all have an interest in showing the authority that it really matters to the community that we maintain this pharmacy."

The meeting will cover the following:

• Actions taken to date by Portland Town Council.

• The proposal for a motion from the whole of the island to send to the health authorities and the media to protest the closure of Boots Pharmacy and demand a pharmacy provision in Fortuneswell.

• Requesting that Boots should extend their notice until further provision is in place.

• Demand no more cuts to services for Portland.

• Any other actions to be decided on the night.

The pharmacy has a history of more than 100 years in Fortuneswell and has been described as a “local institution”.

Cllr Parkes has challenged the CEO of Boots Sebastian James to join her in walking from the Gatehouse surgery in Underhill where people would pick up their prescriptions, all the way up to the surgery in Easton to demonstrate the difficulty residents would face.

A petition has been started by local resident Nigel Blacoe which has amassed over 1,000 signatures.