Pharmacists have called for extra funding to help bring their premises up to scratch, after a poll found that 29 per cent of C+D readers were "very worried" they couldn't afford to meet the upcoming standards.

Independents would struggle to meet the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) standards unless they were "properly reimbursed" and the plans should be deferred for at least a year, industry experts warned in response to the findings.

Forty-nine per cent of the 180 readers polled said the standards would "improve the profession's image", but 22 per cent said they were "a little worried" because they were unsure how to implement them in practice.

"Contractors will struggle to invest in their premises if they continue to be underfunded for the core work" Claire Ward, IPF

More on premises standards GPhC premises regulations could force closures Premises regulation proposals get mixed response David Reissner: PSNC guidance goes too far

Numark managing director John D'Arcy said independents would need to be "properly reimbursed" to put the standards in place. Independent pharmacies had hit "rock bottom" in financial terms, said the Independent Pharmacy Federation (IPF). "Contractors will struggle to invest in their premises if they continue to be underfunded for the core work," IPF chief executive Claire Ward said. And Jignesh Patel, owner of Rohpharm Pharmacy, Plaistow, questioned why pharmacies didn't have similar funding to GPs to help improve their premises.

"With category M [clawbacks] and the situation with dispensing fees, if you haven't got the margins, you're not going to be able to pay loans off – even having trained staff needs funding," he told C+D.

Umesh Modi, pharmacy specialist accountant and partner at Silver Levene, called for the GPhC standards to be deferred for "at least a year" until pharmacists sorted out their finances, as he said they could lead to contractors borrowing money and falling into "further debt" to improve their premises. "While well intentioned, [the standards] will exacerbate the financial difficulties that many contractors are currently facing," he said.

But the GPhC assured contractors that "well-run" pharmacies would not need to make any significant changes to meet the new standards, which would move away from a "rules-based approach". GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin added that contractors would have at least 12 months to implement the standards, which would come into force by next October "at the earliest".

And PSNC said extra financial pressures were taken into account in funding negotiations. "The annual adjustment formula makes allowance for general cost inflation, as well as pharmacy-specific changes," explained PSNC chief executive Sue Sharpe. "Alongside this, where there are specific requirements for major changes associated with the provision of NHS services, allowances for these are incorporated into the funding negotiations."

Regardless of funding, premises standards would play an important part in business prospects, warned brokerage and advisory group Christie + Co. Head of pharmacy Tony Evans said both the public and pharmacy buyers would become "more discerning" over the look and feel of pharmacies in future.