Pharmacists are warning that patients could face severe disruptions in accessing medication and clinical services.
Independent NHS England analysis has shown more than three quarters of pharmacies in England are not sustainable in the short term.
It comes as the price of some medicines and the amount pharmacists are reimbursed means many struggle to survive.
The data also reveals around 47 per cent of pharmacies were not profitable in their last accounting year, and almost every pharmacist said the funding they received was lower than the full economic cost to run their business over the last three years.
Pharmacists are warning that patients could face severe disruptions in accessing medication and clinical services
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To fill the funding gap, the Government recently agreed a new funding package with pharmacy negotiators in England of £3.1bn.
It is a step in the right direction for Ashley Cohen, who is on the National Pharmacy Association Board and runs community pharmacies in Yorkshire, but he thinks more money is merited.
“The amount is welcome, but it doesn’t address the chasm and the massive gap between what is actually needed for pharmacy contractors,” said Ashley Cohen, National Pharmacy Association Board Member and Pharmacy Owner.
“We have now three quarters of pharmacy contractors that are struggling to make a profit. It’s criminal that we are actually subsidising the drugs budget ourselves.
“They are increasing national living wage, increasing national insurance contributions and business rates.
“My fear is that the money that has been given will just be already ringfenced for those priorities and challenges that are facing us, so it’s not going to plug the gap at all at the moment.”
It comes as pharmacies face a financial cliff edge this month, with bills skyrocketing in what has been dubbed ‘awful April’.
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In the last decade, more than 1,300 pharmacies were forced to close in the last decade due to cost pressures.
Ashley Cohen, National Pharmacy Association Board Member and Pharmacy Owner, said: “I’ve had to borrow some money to get through the last financial year across my small regional group.
“I’ve had to borrow circa £125,000 just to keep the lights on, just to keep the doors open and just to keep the investment in our staff.
“I’m just looking for a time where I have less financial anxiety and can actually plan for the future without the worrying impact of ‘can I pay my wholesalers bills’ and ‘can I pay for the rent and rates of our of our premises’.”
Without community pharmacies like Halton Pharmacy in Leeds, patients may find it hard to access care.
Trish Fenton, a Halton Pharmacy patient, said: “It means a lot because I can have my injections here and now I’ve got asthma, so I get checked up here as well, you know, so it’s very, very convenient for me.
“I live on my own, so I haven’t really got many people around me to help, so it is quite difficult.”
David Mackenzie, Halton Pharmacy patient, said: “There’s an awful lot more people go on. You can see they’ve had to get more storage, you know, so they’re under pressure without a doubt.”
Paul Johnson, Halton Pharmacy patient, said: “It’s very vital for me. It’s convenient, it’s easy, and you’re not queuing.”
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.
Trish Fenton, a Halton Pharmacy patient, said: ‘It means a lot because I can have my injections here and now I’ve got asthma, so I get checked up here as well, you know, so it’s very, very convenient for me’
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Speaking about the report, carried out by Frontier Economics and commissioned by NHS England, Nick Kaye, Chair of the National Pharmacy Association said: “This report shows the sheer scale of the financial crisis in community pharmacy that the current Government has inherited and reflects the urgent issues our members have faced over the past decade to support millions of people in our communities.
“The analysis published shows that more than three quarters of pharmacies in England are financially unsustainable in the short run without additional NHS funding, and warns that pharmaceutical services to patients are at risk.
“This lays bare this new government’s dreadful inheritance and we recognise they have a mountain to climb if they are to begin to bridge the funding gap facing pharmacies and maintain services to patients.
“This is a very serious situation for patients which we know Ministers will take extremely seriously and we hope the Government’s financial settlement can start to turn the tide for pharmacies that are on the brink.”
While consultation on the new government deal continues, which will see funding rise to £3.1bn next year (2025/26), the National Pharmacy Association has agreed to keep pharmacy doors open, for now.
The deal will also include more mental health support for patients and increased consultations and blood pressure checks and includes a plan to enable women to get the morning after pill from pharmacies.
As part of the scheme, the government will also write off £193 million of debt for community pharmacy owners.
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.”
