Pharmacies to be voted on action against funding cuts

Pharmacists to be voted on potential action “under the regulations” over funding dispute.

These actions may include shortening the opening hours of pharmacies or reducing the number of services provided.

Pharmaceutical company representatives said the ability to provide safe care is at risk due to declining funding.

The National Pharmacists Association (NPA), which represents community pharmacies, has called for a £1.3 billion increase in funding in England.

A vote has been held among members asking if they would reduce their services if more money was not allocated to pharmacies.

The NPA is not a trade union, so the result of the vote will be advisory in nature.

However, the association said action could begin before Christmas if a majority of voters vote in favour.

Potential actions could include: only opening pharmacies for a minimum number of hours; removing free medicine deliveries and potentially notifying some services – such as some emergency contraception services or support to stop smoking.

NPA members in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

The organisation, which represents 6,000 community pharmacies across the UK, said its members would be voted on the actions taken under the Work-to-Rule scheme for the first time.

The vote said: “Community pharmacies have committed to providing safe services. However, our ability to provide these safe services will soon be threatened by continued funding declines, mass pharmacy closures and increasing workloads.

“We are informing NHS leaders that we cannot guarantee that community pharmacy services will remain safe in the future if the current low funding, pharmacy closures and increasing levels of workload continue.”

Paul Rees, NPA chief executive, said: “It is a painful decision for us to take, but pharmacies have been driven to the brink of collapse by a decade of real estate cuts that have led to a 40 per cent reduction in their funding.

“Pharmacies are routinely forced to dispense NHS medicines at a loss, with 1,500 forced to close in the last decade, while others have had to cut opening hours to try to make ends meet. This is unacceptable and is hitting patients hard.

“We want to work urgently with Wes Streeting and the new Government to unlock the huge potential of pharmacies and deliver the better health we all want for our communities.

“But despite big deals for junior doctors and train drivers since the election, there is – as yet – no sign of an end to the chronic real estate cuts that are literally driving dedicated healthcare workers in pharmacies out of business.”

Commenting on the case, Janet Morrison, chief executive of Community Pharmacy England, said: “Today’s news should serve as a stark warning to the government and the NHS: community pharmacies urgently need help.

“If immediate action is not taken and the current financial crisis continues, the sector will collapse like a house of cards and patients and communities will suffer.

“For too long, pharmacies have been dispensing medicines at a loss due to rising costs and inadequate NHS reimbursement, forcing pharmacy owners to foot the bill out of their own pockets.

“Adequate funding for community pharmacies is essential for them to continue to support the healthcare system.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “This Government inherited a broken NHS where pharmacies have been neglected for years.

“Pharmacies are key to making healthcare fit for the future as we shift the focus of the NHS from hospitals to the community. We will make better use of pharmacists’ skills, including accelerating the rollout of independent prescribing, to improve access to care.”