Pharmacies are refusing to rule out withdrawing free services such as emergency contraception and deliveries for vulnerable patients after a funding settlement left the sector facing a £2bn shortfall.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has promised to “rebuild community pharmacy” as it announced it had reached an agreement with Community Pharmacy England (CPE) for a funding increase over two years – worth an extra £106m compared to the previous year, and a further £375m for 2025/26.
It said a further £30m had also been freed up by devolving funding for blood pressure and contraception services to pharmacies and that it would write off £193m of debt for community pharmacy owners.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), which represents around half of the UK’s 12,000 independent community pharmacies, said it would hold off planned collection action while they analysed the new funding deal from the Government.
However, pharmacy owners told The i Paper that the extra money while welcome it is not enough to put them on a sustainable footing.
They pointed to a long-awaited economic analysis of community pharmacy, published last week, which revealed the devastating impact years of underfunding is having on pharmacies – with around 78 per cent in England not sustainable in the short term.
Reena Barai, owner of SG Barai Pharmacy in Sutton, south London, said: “At last we have a deal, but the devil is in the details of the deal. Last week, NHS England released the independent economic review of the pharmacy sector that they commissioned highlighted that the full economic costs of the sector £5.063bn and the government today has announced an annual funding of £3.073bn for 2025-26. The shortfall in the funding gap is where the uncertainty lies.
“Each community pharmacy has a unique model of operating and business. So whether this is an ok, good or bad deal is really difficult to ascertain. Whether this funding, which is welcome, will sustain pharmacies going forward will depend on how the funding will flow into pharmacies over the coming months and support those who are struggling with cash flow and ever increasing costs.
“Until the funding flows through and it will vary based on business models, we don’t know if it will adequately fund services or whether we will be forced to take action on opening hours and other collective measures recommended by the NPA.
Mike Hewitson, who runs Beaminster Pharmacy, in Dorset, said the economic review had revealed the funding gap to be “eyewatering and growing”.
He said: “At face value, most pharmacy owners will be relieved that for the first time in 10 years funding has increased. The sector is in an absolute mess after a decade of neglect… My major concern is that pharmacies will run out of money before this new funding arrives.
“The most important thing is what happens next. We need to see continued investments to close the funding gap and ensure that community pharmacy can fulfil its potential for primary care.”
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Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA), said the funding package provides pharmacies with “little certainty” over their immediate future and that the majority of the extra investment will be wiped by the increase in employer’s national insurance, business rate increases and the rise in national minimum wage starting from April.
“Without a cash injection, many pharmacies across the country will now be weighing up whether they can afford to remain open and deliver the vital primary care services their communities require,” she said.
Dr Hannbeck criticised “the disproportionate, unrepresentative Community Pharmacy England for repeating their 2019 mistake again and falling into the trap of voting for a deal that does not address the funding deficit in community pharmacies”.
She said: “To make matters worse, CPE voted for this deal with full knowledge of the findings of the [economic review]. The report… was made available to CPE executives and committee, but the NHS officials did not publish it to the public in advance of the CPE vote despite IPA and our members pushing very hard for it to be made public.”
The DHSC also announced a series of reforms alongside the funding boost, including making the morning-after pill free at NHS pharmacies and boosting financial incentives for pharmacists to identify patients with undiagnosed high blood pressure to take pressure off GPs.
Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said: “We’re working to turn around a decade of underfunding and neglect that has left the sector on the brink of collapse. This package of record investment and reform is a vital first step to getting community pharmacies back on their feet and fit for the future.”
CPE chief executive Janet Morrison said: “We are pleased that this settlement takes a positive first step in the right direction for pharmacies, towards stabilisation and a better future.”
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