Pharmacy owners today condemned as “utterly unacceptable” being left out of contract by the NHS for nearly 300 days with the government yet to start negotiations on a settlement for the current financial year – which runs out in under three months’ time.
The National Pharmacy Association said pharmacies were being “abandoned in the dark”. It warned that delays in starting discussions on this year’s funding had forced some pharmacy owners to take out six figure loans to stay afloat while others were unable to invest in staff and facilities for patients because of crippling uncertainty over current year budgets.
NPA leaders warned that continued delays may leave them with little choice but to advise pharmacies to take collective action later this month for the first in their history. Ninety-nine per cent of pharmacies balloted by the NPA last month said they would be prepared to withdraw services to patients, including cutting their opening hours and withdrawing free medicine deliveries, until the government takes steps to address historic funding cuts that have led to record numbers of pharmacy closures.
However, the government has not yet responded and has not started funding negotiations for this financial year, despite numerous assurances from ministers.
The current contractual arrangements for community pharmacies expired on 31st March 2024 and pharmacies have been working without a new contract since then despite now being more than nine months into the financial year.
In contrast, the government have already offered GPs their contract for the next financial year, with pharmacies still left in the dark.
Around 90-95 per cent of an average community pharmacy’s income is derived from delivering NHS services set out in their contract, such as dispensing medication, providing medicines advice to people leaving hospital and supporting NHS vaccination campaigns.
However, funding has been cut by 40 per cent in real terms over the last decade at the same time as workload has substantially increased, leading to 700 pharmacy closures in the last two years alone.
The NPA, which represents more than 6,000 independent pharmacies in the UK, has written to NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard warning that pharmacies are treated like second class citizens in the health service. It urged NHS England to “treat community pharmacy fairly and be seen to treat it fairly and on a par with other parts of the NHS”.
The letter comes as Matt Hancock, former health secretary, told the Covid inquiry recently that pharmacies were “considered to be less of a priority”.
He said that “in order to maximise taxpayer value for money, NHS England is by tradition really very tight on pharmacists… there is therefore inbuilt into NHS England senior management a lack of enthusiasm for giving more to community pharmacists than they absolutely have to.”
He went onto say that pharmacies “evidently were [an afterthought] as far as the system was concerned”.
Nick Kaye, Chair of the National Pharmacy Association said:
“The seemingly endless delays to this year’s contract negotiations are unacceptable and leave hardworking pharmacies left abandoned in the dark, causing them stress and uncertainty about their future.
“The crippling uncertainty about funding is preventing pharmacies from investing in better services and reform – instead making them take on debts or question whether they can continue at all.
“The last thing pharmacies want to do is to withdraw vital services from patients as a form of collective action, but we may be left with little choice unless things improve.
“Offering GP colleagues a contract offer for the next financial year before even starting negotiations with pharmacies for this year has only inflamed this situation further.
“The government must get around the table as soon as is possible to end the crippling uncertainty and offer reassurance and security to pharmacies so they can serve their communities with confidence.”
Case studies
Ashley Cohen, Pharmacy Owner, Leeds:
“The fact we are now into 2025 without the government sitting down with our negotiating body leaves me incredulous.
“I look at my own financial situation along with other colleagues. I have had to go to the bank twice since January 2024 and had to borrow £125k to get us through this year. There is only so many times you can inject money from savings accounts, borrow from the bank or cash in on pension pots to keep your business afloat.
“I am part of the NHS and I rely on about 90-95% of my funding on an NHS contract. I am looking at April with the introduction of National Insurance contributions and increases in the National Living Wage as a cliff edge. This whole period of uncertainty is very stressful for me and my pharmacy team.
“The current government may not be to blame for the decade of underfunding, but they urgently need to step in now before it’s too late to give us the stability urgently required.”
Reena Barai, Pharmacy Owner, Sutton, South London:
“I am unable to make decisions about my pharmacy such as taking on staff, making improvements to our premises and offering new services that could help my local community as I am in the dark as to the contract I am supposed to be working to and the financial remuneration attributed to it.
“The national insurance contribution increases proposed for April will be a huge blow for all pharmacy owners as with no contract, we have no certainty as to how we will pay for it. Within this current climate, with pharmacies closing at a rate of 7 a week, this spells disaster for the local pharmacy network across the country.”
Kevin Simpson, Pharmacy Owner, Sunderland:
“I have a list of suppliers waiting to be paid.
“I will write to the NHS to reduce my Opening Hours this month. I have a draft letter to staff and customers to explain why I am doing this.
“Money and certainty are owed to us. They should release some of this immediately and re -energise our profession to help fix the NHS.”
Sukhi Basra, Pharmacy Owner, central London:
“The prolonged delays in contract negotiations for community pharmacies in England have left us fighting not only for our livelihood but also for the very essence of what we’ve built.
“Our family’s life has revolved around our pharmacy, and we’ve never hesitated to make sacrifices because we believed in the difference we were making.
“The financial pressures caused by the delays in fair funding have forced us into heart-wrenching decisions. My husband has had to step away from our own pharmacy to work as a locum elsewhere, while I’ve stayed behind with our dedicated team to keep things running. It’s cruel to leave the very business we’ve built, the patients we’ve served, and the community we love, just to secure enough income to survive.
“We’ve always gone above and beyond for our patients. Late-night openings, weekend services, and the extra time we gave to those in need were part of who we were as a pharmacy. But now, those services are gone. The reality of operating on such tight margins has left us with no choice but to cut back. Each decision feels like a failure—not of effort, but of resources.
“We’ve given so much of ourselves and our family to this profession. We’ve spent years building relationships, supporting our patients, and making our pharmacy a place they could rely on. But now, we feel abandoned by the very system we’ve supported.
“We’ve poured our lives into this work, and all we’re asking for is fairness. The government and NHS must recognize the value of what we do and act before it’s too late. Without their support, the communities we serve will lose a vital lifeline, and families like ours will be left wondering why our sacrifices weren’t enough.”
