• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • News
  • Education
  • Events
  • Interviews
    • Career spotlight
  • Opinion
    • Professional Dilemmas
    • Patient perspective
  • PIPcast
  • Jobs
  • Business Directory

Pharmacy in Practice

EDX/20/1154
Date of prep: December 2020

Prescribing information and
adverse events reporting

For healthcare professionals only

Pharmacies in England under-funded to the tune of £497m

4th September 2020 by PIP editor Leave a Comment

 

Nearly three-quarters of family-owned pharmacies in England could be forced to shut their doors over the next four years according to a new report from Ernst and Young (EY).

 

The study found that pharmacies are under-funded to the tune of £497m – with 72 percent forecast to be loss-making within four years if the current contractual arrangements carry on unchanged. The report estimates that the average pharmacy will be making an annual loss of £43k by 2024.

 

Having undertaken an economic analysis of the sector’s finances, EY concluded that, without intervention from NHS England, many pharmacies will be unable to survive – limiting access to health services in many areas including remote rural communities.

 

EY is calling on policymakers to put in place safeguards against the English community pharmacy network collapsing as an unintended consequence of short-term cost savings.

 

Funding has been dropping in real terms for four years and is set to carry on this path for a further four years under current arrangements.

 

Andrew Lane, NPA Chair, said:

 

“This report from EY shows the precarious situation facing pharmacies up and down the country. Community pharmacies act as a vital lifeline in communities across the land – and there’s a very real threat they could close unless ministers act now. Health Secretary Matt Hancock describes community pharmacy as a critical part of the NHS family. He has also said that, if the Government asks pharmacies to offer more services, they need to be paid properly for those services. Those words urgently need to be backed by further investment to underpin viability, change and improvement in our sector.”

 

Chair of the All-Party Pharmacy Group, Jackie Doyle-Price MP, said:

 

“Pharmacies are at a crossroads – and must be given the funding they need to look after the nation’s health. The pandemic has highlighted what a pivotal role they played and continue to play in delivering frontline care when many doctor surgeries were closed. Going forward if the NHS is to deliver a truly 24-hour seven day a week service, then pharmacies must be at the forefront of that.”

 

EY’s health economics director, George Agathangelou, said:

 

“Our research shows that many more pharmacies will become loss-making over the coming years if the current funding arrangements in England continue. This is clearly unsustainable and requires urgent attention to help pharmacies maintain and develop vital services.”

 

The EY report was commissioned by the NPA and drew on financial research conducted among NPA members. The NPA Board will be meeting on 7 and 8 September to give detailed consideration to EY’s findings.

 

You can access the full report here.

 

 

Related

Next article  Moderna Covid-19 vaccine approved by UK regulator

Filed Under: News Tagged With: community pharmacy

Register for our upcoming webinar and live Q&A

About PIP editor

Pharmacy in Practice is a UK pharmacy publication with its roots in Scotland.

Reader Interactions

Begin the discussion right here Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Categories

PIP business directory

Letters to the editor

Letters to the editor

Community pharmacy central to tackling hepatitis C

‘PRN’ medicines like Tramadol should never be on repeat

How 56 community pharmacies helped to eradicate hepatitis C

Community pharmacy isn’t set up to deliver interventions at scale

More letters to the editor here...

Blogs

💊 PIP live pharmacy blog

Winter stresses must not ‘destabilise’ general practice

What is it like to depend on medicine to treat endometriosis?

Opinion

Why is pharmacy not integral to government mass vaccination plans?

Pharmacy Covid-19 vaccination involvement is a ‘no-brainer’

The great patient medication returns debacle

CPD Challenges

💊 CPD Challenge: How well do you understand pulmonary embolisms?

💊 CPD Challenge: Prescribing and dispensing clozapine

💊 CPD Challenge: Oral anticoagulants – Dabigatran

More CPD challenges here...

© 2021 · About Pharmacy In Practice · Site mantained by Mike

This site is for healthcare professionals, please confirm you are a healthcare professional to continue.

YES

Pharmacy In Practice uses cookies, by continuing to use this site we will assume you are ok with that Find out more.