‘Deep distress’: Almost two-thirds of pharmacies losing money warns CPE
Some 65% of pharmacies are operating at a loss, while one in six may close “within the next year”, survey data from the pharmacy negotiator has revealed.
“Almost 65% of pharmacy premises report they are losing money,” Community Pharmacy England (CPE) this weekend (August 25) revealed.
The negotiator’s 2024 pharmacy pressures survey, which garnered responses from 900 pharmacy owners and “over 2000 pharmacy team members” between March and April, shows “a community pharmacy sector in deep distress” it said.
CPE warned that with “too many pharmacies…struggling to stay afloat”, “countless pharmacies are at risk of closure”.
Some 16%, or one in six, pharmacies “are unsure they can stay open for another year or less due to financial difficulties” the report said.
And “more than 90% of pharmacy owners report that business costs are significantly higher than this time last year,” it added.
“Ringing alarm bells”
The “widespread profitability concerns” are “deeply concerning”, CPE chief executive Janet Morrison said.
“Our findings make a distressing reading, and they should be ringing alarm bells for anybody interested in protecting the health and wellbeing of local communities and the public,” she added.
“Pharmacies depend on 90% of their income from the NHS contract, but significant funding cuts over the years and spiralling costs have pushed them to the brink,” she said.
“Without urgent action, the future of community pharmacies in our towns and neighbourhoods is at serious risk,” CPE added.
Number crunch
The stats come after the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) earlier this month warned that the number of pharmacies in England could fall below 10,000 for the first time since 2005 by the end of August.
Meanwhile, another CPE poll this month revealed that 96% of pharmacies have stopped providing a locally commissioned service this year due to “financial pressures”.
Also this month, the NPA warned that ongoing collective action by GPs “is bound to have a ripple effect on community pharmacies”.
“Community pharmacy’s ability to be an effective shock-absorber for disruption elsewhere in the healthcare system has been eroded by persistent underfunding,” NPA chair Nick Kaye said at the time.
The comments come as the pharmacy body’s #saveourpharmacies petition garnered over 300,000 ahead of its second “day of action” next month.
