Independent pharmacies in England have been advised to slash their opening hours in a row over funding.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said it had “been left with little choice” but to recommend its 6,000 members take collective action for the first time in its history, unless the government provides “new and sufficient” funding to cover significant new costs.
About 90% of an average pharmacy’s work is funded via the NHS, including dispensing medication and vaccinations. But the NPA, which represents community pharmacies, says members have yet to receive any confirmation of funding for the 2024-25 or the 2025-26 financial years. Increases in employers’ national insurance rates, the national living wage and business rates from April, on top of these unresolved funding issues could “jeopardise patient safety”, it says.
Significant numbers of pharmacies have already ceased trading, with 1,300 pharmacies shutting since 2017.
About 3,300 independent pharmacies took part in the NPA’s ballot in November, a turnout of 63%. Individual pharmacies would have to give five weeks’ notice to the NHS before reducing any services, but the advice could see fewer independent pharmacies being open in the evenings and at weekends, stopping free home deliveries, or withdrawing emergency contraception, smoking cessation and addiction support services.
Nick Kaye, chair of the NPA, said the move was necessary “to safeguard patient services for the long term”, adding: “It is better that we temporarily reduce access in the short term than let pharmacies collapse altogether under the weight of unsustainable operating costs.
“Pharmacies have shut in record numbers and those that are left are hanging on by their fingernails waiting for the delivery of a financial settlement that protects services on which millions of people rely.
“We hope that an offer from the government emerges by 1 April to cover the additional costs which pharmacies will face and start to plug the huge gap in funding created by 10 years of real terms cuts.
“If pharmacies do not get adequate funding, then patients risk losing access to their local pharmacy altogether, threatening their access to vital medicines and health services.”
Responding to the findings, Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of Independent Pharmacies Association, said that many independent pharmacies in various parts of the country have already reduced their opening hours due to a severe lack of funding and that the trend will continue.
“We are expecting a big acceleration in pharmacy closures unless the Treasury and ministers start realising the massive impact on patient care and the workload that will be added elsewhere in the NHS when pharmacies close.”
The Liberal Democrat health and social care spokesperson, Helen Morgan, said: “This announcement is deeply concerning and will worry many who rely on their local pharmacy to access the essential prescriptions they need to get through their daily lives.
“For too long, the government has left a massive question mark over the support they will give to pharmacies. The consequences of this failure are now painfully apparent.
“Ministers need to get around the table immediately and work around the clock to prevent this from happening, or risk many suffering unnecessarily.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Community pharmacy has a vital role to play as we shift the focus of the NHS out of hospitals and into the community, through our Plan for Change.
“We are currently engaging with the sector on a settlement that will start to make it fit for the future and able to provide the services that will benefit patients and the communities that they serve.
“The National Pharmacy Association’s pre-emptive action will cause unnecessary disruption for patients and we urge them to reconsider.”
