Nick Kaye, Chair of the National Pharmacy Association, which represents 6,000 community pharmacies across the UK, said:
“Pharmacies will be relieved to have certainty about their financial position and news of the first increase in their funding for 11 years. After a decade of 40 per cent cuts to their funding that has left the pharmacy network on its knees, it is good to see a concrete sign that Ministers want to support pharmacies, which have so much potential to achieve the Government’s vision of care closer to communities.
“No-one wants to reduce services through protest action so we’ll look carefully at the detail and consult our members, who are facing substantial cost increases from 1st April, to understand what this means for the future of their services so we can recommend next steps.
“The Government inherited an intolerable situation after more than a decade of real terms cuts and today's settlement is a step forward. However, the truth is that because of a decade of neglect it also falls a long way short of the NHS’s own estimates of the true cost of providing pharmacy services so we stand ready to work with Ministers to close the funding gap, reform the system and deliver the sustainable, stronger pharmacy service that millions of people need so much.
"We have been clear that the current community pharmacy contract is broken and requires root and branch reform. It is essential for that reform to happen to secure pharmacies and improve services for our communities. We are here to work with the Government to deliver the better, more sustainable future for pharmacies and their patients that we all want to see.”
Notes to editors
In November, 99.7% of members who responded to our ballot said they would be prepared to reduce services to patients, including cutting opening hours, if an increased and sustained funding settlement was not provided by the government.
Increases in National Insurance and National Living Wage taking effect from 1st April will cost pharmacies an estimated £250 million a year.
An independent analysis of the community pharmacy network in England commissioned by NHS England revealed the estimated cost of providing NHS pharmacy services in 23/24 was £5.06 billion. It found that 78 per cent of pharmacies in England are not financially sustainable in the short term.
The report, carried out by Frontier Economics and released on Friday found that:
Around 47% of pharmacies were not profitable in their last accounting year.
99% of pharmacies had funding which was lower than full economic cost.
78% of pharmacies unsustainable in the short-run . . . there is a significant risk of interruption to NHS pharmaceutical services offered in these pharmacies.
Around half of pharmacy companies … may struggle to meet their debts over the next year.
The full economic cost of providing NHS pharmaceutical services across England in 23/24 was £4.3-5.7 billion.
NHS community pharmacy costs could rise from £5,063 million to £8,106 million between 2023/24 and 2029/30.
