The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has today called for an “emergency stability payment” of £52m for pharmacies before the government’s budget changes come into effect in April.
The NPA said it wrote to pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock for emergency funds to “stave off cuts to services” from next month, when pharmacies will be “hit by new costs such as higher business rates and increases in the minimum wage”.
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It asked the government to pay £52m to pharmacies in England in April, and every month after that, until the 2026/27 funding deal is announced.
“This payment would deliver about £5,000 for each pharmacy per month,” it added.
And it stressed that the first payment should be delivered on April 1 “so that it is received as soon as pharmacies have to deal with the uplifts in costs”.
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The body said that “following delays to negotiations” on the new pharmacy contract, pharmacy owners “are in the dark about how to meet the looming cost increases, which could lead to a reduction in staff and services and permanent closures”.
The proposed funding “would align with the 19% uplift offered by the government” last March, it added, which was “intended to be the first step in closing the funding gap” identified by the NHS’s independent economic analysis of the sector.
“Time is running out”
NPA chief executive Henry Gregg said the government “must act urgently to stabilise pharmacy finances or risk more pharmacies closing for good” and others being left “with no choice but to cut back patient services”.
“Pharmacies face a financial cliff edge in just a few weeks, with significant new costs due but no news on any funding increases from the government to cover them,” he added.
“A formal NHS contract offer was put to GPs before the government even began consultations with our sector. Time is fast running out for our beleaguered community pharmacies.”
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It comes after NPA analysis found that pharmacies have cut their weekend opening hours by “more than 20% since 2022” due to a “crisis in NHS funding”.
And it follows the government confirming that funding for pharmacies in England is £800m less in real terms than it was a decade ago.
