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Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has cautioned that patients in the UK will continue to encounter difficulties in accessing medicines unless the government addresses supply problems and resolves the critical financial state of community pharmacies. CPE Chief Executive Janet Morrison and Mike Dent, Director of Pharmacy Funding, on Monday 19 February, gave evidence to the Health and Social Care Select Committee's Pharmacy Inquiry, highlighting the impact of ongoing medicines supply issues on pharmacies and patients. Morrison indicated that a combination of the ongoing "financial squeeze, operational pressures, and medicines supply and pricing issues" has left pharmacy businesses fighting for survival. "As the NHS continues to grapple with wider challenges, this is a battle that patients cannot afford for pharmacies to lose," she said. Morrison warned that if pharmacies continue to close, not only business owners and pharmacy teams will suffer, but patients and local communities will also face the consequences.

After the government announced to award pay rise to pubic sector workers, pharmacy trade bodies have expressed their disappointment at the neglect shown towards funding crisis in community pharmacy. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) chair, Andrew Lane, said: "Our sector can't help but feel utterly neglected after seven years of crushing real terms cuts to pharmacy funding, amounting to half a billion pounds, and no hint of any relief to come. "This week's public sector pay awards, which include a large number of our health service colleagues, highlight that there's an unresolved funding crisis in community pharmacy which needs urgent attention." "Four months into this financial year, there is as yet no clarity even on current arrangements." "After stepping up to tackle Covid and keep the wheels on the NHS, the sector deserves better than to be neglected in this way," Andrew opines.

The English health secretary has fumbled the opportunity to prevent a crisis in the NHS this winter. She either does not understand or value the role of community pharmacy as the third pillar of patient access to essential healthcare. Her announcement that she wants community pharmacy to provide more services to take the strain off A&E departments and GP surgeries comes on the same day DHSC announces no new long-term investment to sustain the sector. Does she not understand that as a result of years of government underinvestment in England the network is in decline with random closures across the country? Too many pharmacies are temporarily closed every day due to workforce shortages beyond the control of pharmacy owners. Adding a new service here and there, even with some additional funding, does not address the longer term viability of the network which needs to know which patient services it will be expected to provide over the next 10 years - not just the next few months - and how those will be adequately remunerated. Asking more from our sector with no new investment is a strategy which is bound to fail. The pharmacy contract remains economically illiterate. The sector's finances need open heart surgery not a couple of paracetamol tablets.

The Pharmacists Defence Association (PDA) has expressed its interest to support pharmacists impacted with the latest announcement of the closure of Tesco pharmacies. "Tesco have followed ASDA and LloydsPharmacy (at Sainsbury's) to announce cost cutting changes to their stores, impacting hundreds of jobs," the association said. The PDA's interests in the announcement relate to the planned closure of eight in-store Tesco pharmacies and the impact of those closures upon pharmacists, however the union is of course concerned for all those impacted. The PDA Union will support individual PDA members impacted by the decision so that they are aware of, and can exercise, their rights at work in relation to this situation. Paul Day, PDA Union Director said, "In addition to the immediate impact on pharmacists employed at the stores marked for closure, this is the third instance in just twelve days of reductions in the overall access to a pharmacy for NHS patients. We expect those who represent communities to be concerned about the loss of a key part of their local NHS service."

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has called pharmacy employers and pharmacy trade unions to come together to a round table meeting to agree on principles for a way forward that ensures patients benefit consistently from access to high quality, adequately staffed, safe pharmacy services. It has also urged the governments, NHS organisations and individual pharmacy teams to define clear prioritisation plans, which can be embedded in organisational business continuity plans which set out the pharmacy services that are essential and must always be provided and can be de-prioritised at specific levels of pressures. The challenges for pharmacies are compounded by the escalating cost of living crisis. With unprecedented levels of burnout among pharmacists, pharmacy closures and the potential for strike action, RPS has called for three things- 'professionalism, respect and prioritisation.'

The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) has published a 'pharmacy paradox paper' which outlines how community pharmacy can match the ambition amidst the workforce crisis. The sector is experiencing a workforce crisis, exacerbated by NHS recruitment of community pharmacists into primary care networks. Pharmacies are also facing a significant increase in demand on services. CCA said, "A stretched and reduced pharmacy workforce is having to deliver more and more. This is unsustainable." "Unless the tension between ambition and capacity is addressed, there is a risk that community pharmacies will not only not meet their potential, but the existing offer could be compromised." Therefore, the association has set out solutions to resolve the current paradox between ambition and reality.

What will it take to get help from the government before an individual or sector breaks? Pharmacists raised questions after the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC)'s 2023 Pharmacy Pressures Survey confirmed the ongoing pressures and health issues faced by the pharmacies. Pharmacists are not all shocked by the PSNC's survey report as they feel the same as what has been reported related to their businesses and health. They hope the government listens and work with them to find resolutions. "We are bullied into a corner," said Salim Jetha Chairman, Avicenna. "Unlike other industries, we can't increase our prices. Most of the daily calls I get from Independents is about financial health of their business and any cost cutting would be detrimental to patient care. Urgent holistic review is required." Bristol pharmacist Ade Williams said: "The report is a dire indictment, and I would also warn, likely an underestimate of the extent and detrimental impact of the ongoings pressures and squeeze on Community pharmacies." "If the closest interface of the NHS to communities and patients is so distressed, what does that mean for those that need and depend on us? We are notoriously very stoic, so this is a warning light, which, taken with workforce pressures, market-exit activity, and other reports raising concern about wellbeing and stress, must beg the question; what will it take to get help before the sector and individuals break?" he questioned. The survey results don't surprise Kent-based community pharmacist Amish Patel. He said, "I have been feeling exactly what has been reported for far too long. I'm burnt out and would say beginning to suffer with my own health because of it. Now it's for PSNC to talk to government, and government to listen and work with us to find resolutions."

There is a state of "emergency" across the community pharmacy sector, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has warned. The organisation is holding a day of protest action, called 'One Day to #SaveOurPharmacies', on 20 June to draw attention to the sector's growing crisis. During the protest, pharmacy teams across the UK are expected to take a range of symbolic actions - such as turning the lights out for a period, asking their staff to wear black, blacking out windows, using the day to engage with patients, inviting parliamentary candidates and using #saveourpharmacies on social media - signifying dark times for the beleaguered community pharmacy sector, the NPA said. The organisation decided to choose 20 June for the protest as it marks the day from which the average pharmacy across the four nations will be "lossmaking overall."

Professor Harry McQuillan has said community pharmacists in the UK must change their focus from an 'accuracy of supply' to a 'safety of supply' model when it comes to dealing with patients. "The main take away message from tonight's lecture is for pharmacy professionals to really challenge themselves about whether they are focused on accuracy of supply or safety of supply," he said at this year's UCL School of Pharmacy Lecture in London on Thursday, 15 June. "For our community pharmacists it must be about safety, including prescribing, and ensuring patients and citizens get the maximum benefit from prescribed medicines. "To deliver this, we need to invest in our teams - harness technology and always be willing to take the next step in a more clinical future." The Chief Executive Office of Community Pharmacy Scotland, however, noted that at a time when the UK was grappling with an unprecedented national debt crisis exacerbated by severe cost of living and spiraling inflation, community pharmacy will need to make a "compelling case" of where the priority should be in the sector. Expanding on the financial woes of the country, he compared the current national debt of the UK, which stood at a staggering 270 percent of GDP in September 2022, with the previous record-breaking national debt of 250 per cent at the end of WWII.

Well Pharmacy has announced a new partnership with RangeMe, a product discovery, sourcing and purchasing platform, as it looks to increase the diversity of products available to its customers. The independent pharmacy chain said the partnership will provide new, emerging and diverse brands increased access to its buying teams. There are already over 200,000 suppliers registered on the RangeMe platform. "We pride ourselves on being at the heart of the communities we serve and are delighted to be working with RangeMe to increase the diversity of the products we are able to offer to our customers across the UK," Reena Takhar, head of OTC & NHS buying at Well Pharmacy said. "Given the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, we're keen to do all we can to give businesses of all sizes the opportunity to connect with our buyersto allow us to offer new and interesting great value products to our customers." RangeMe helps retailers and their buying teams scale product sourcing efforts with streamlined submissions, simplified discovery tools, and the industry standard digital sell sheet.

Almost nine in ten community pharmacists in England say they have patients who sometimes go without prescription medicines because they cannot afford the prescription charge levied by the government. Sixty-eight per cent of pharmacists in a National Pharmacy Association (NPA) survey, conducted via email in June 2022, said this has become more frequent in the past year - suggesting that the rising cost of living could be leading more people to miss out on vital medicines. While prescription charge does not apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, in England an NHS patients needs to pay £9.35 per item. For patients who need multiples medicines the cost could be exponential and virtually unaffordable amid rising inflation and higher cost of living. The survey found that 89 per cent of pharmacies in England have patients who sometimes go without prescription medicines due to cost. For most pharmacists (74 per cent) this happens one to five times a week. Fifteen per cent said they see such patients from six to 20 times a week.

Campaigners have submitted an open letter to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), urging the Minister for Primary Care and Public Health to freeze prescription charges to keep people with long-term conditions alive and well. The campaign is led by the Prescription Charges Coalition, which represents over 50 organisations, including Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA). Currently, the prescription charge is £9.65 per item, and campaigners have asked the government to freeze it for 2024 and 2025 as people living with long-term health conditions in England are "being forced to choose between heating, eating, and taking their vital medication on a daily basis." In 2023, a study conducted by the Prescription Charges Coalition revealed that almost 10 per cent of survey participants had skipped medication in the previous year due to the cost of prescriptions. This led to increased physical and mental health problems, as well as impacted the time they took off work. Laura Cockram, Chair of the Prescription Charges Coalition and Head of Campaigns at Parkinson's UK, expressed deep concern that a further rise in the charge this year will lead to people skipping or not taking the full dose of their medication, which will affect their health and put more pressure on the already under pressure NHS.

The lessons from Covid crisis applied in the future through collaboration can create a better integration between GP practices, hospitals and community pharmacies, Pharmacists Defence Association (PDA) has proposed. Stating that a more integrated healthcare system could enable pharmacists to provide effective and more efficient care to patients, the PDA proposed a model where at least two pharmacists would be working in each community pharmacy, empowered, and enabled with two-way referral pathways, having more clinical input and full access to patient records. "Such an environment could not only help to improve communications between health professionals and increase access to services for patients, but would support the NHS to operate more effectively."

Amid media speculations that a large pharmacy multiple was putting all its stores at risk of closure, PSNC supremo Janet Morrison said the sector was in crisis and in danger of a significant collapse. Addressing delegates via a video link at Sigma Pharmaceutical's 13th Annual Community Pharmacy Conference held last week (March 4 -9) in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, she said while "a lot of consolidation or sales" would continue, a lot of the smaller, independently-owned community pharmacies - which had to work harder and harder to make ends meet - were just "hanging on in there". "But I don't know how much longer people can go on," she said, adding that the risk of actual closure was rendering the remaining pharmacies so fragile that "they may not be able to pick up the slack of many thousands of patients" who would need repeat prescriptions. "The disruption is frightful and awful. We have got 53 per cent of the population on repeat prescriptions, so that matters." Her comment on the opening day of the conference was a sober reminder that the sector - which relies heavily on income from prescriptions - couldn't afford to "carry on with the current format of a contract and the current amount of money" it was paid to deliver numerous tasks which have been heaped on it to share the burden of a crippling NHS.

harmacists in the town of Barnoldswick in Lancashire are reportedly suffering from various problems including a lack of medicines and the movement or loss of pharmacy staff. Problems, including delays with supply of insulin, were reported at a recent Pendle Council West Craven meeting. And this week the head of one pharmacy chain, Whitworth, highlighted a range of issues faced by his teams including supply chains, costs, loss of staff and NHS reimbursement for contractors. In Barnoldswick, queues have formed inside and outside pharmacies as people attempt to get prescriptions. Some said they had to wait for days to get what they needed, had made repeat-visits to pharmacies and were unsure when medicines might arrive. They also said the number of pharmacies in the area have fallen over the years. Two town centre pharmacies, Whitworth and Well, are located opposite each other, close to a doctors' surgery. Standing in one queue outside Whitworth was Marilyn King. She said: "I have been waiting seven days to get my prescription for blood pressure and some other medicines. This week, I've come back time after time. But the staff say sorry, they have not got it in because nobody has delivered it. "I came here on Saturday, when there was a queue. But the pharmacist was not here. I came again on Tuesday and then Wednesday. Then finally, just when I reached the front of the queue, they asked me to come back in an hour…

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has warned of multi-million financial hit for community pharmacies, while the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has renewed its calls for urgent financial support amid a looming energy bill crisis. NPA board member, Olivier Picard, this week shared a screenshot of his estimated electricity bill on WhatsApp groups. Upon expiration of his current arrangements, in October, his electricity bill could rise from its current £1,821 for one pharmacy to an estimated £6,914 - a near fourfold increase. Piccard said: "This is an eye-watering rise in costs for my own pharmacies and adds to the intense financial pressure we're already under. My standing charges will multiply by 10 and the overall cost to each pharmacy amounts to about £5,000." His comments come just ahead of an NPA-commissioned report into pharmacy inflation which will provide an analysis of inflationary costs pressing on the community pharmacy sector, from utilities and workforce to medicines purchasing.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was questioned whether he 'will take urgent action to prevent pharmacy closure'. At Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) in Parliament held on Wednesday (26 April) he replied, "we will continue to do everything we can to support community pharmacies." Labour MP for Knowsley and All-Party Pharmacy Group member, George Howarth said: "Given the chronic lack of capacity in the NHS, the Prime Minister will be aware that community pharmacy can help deal with minor illnesses. But there is a problem on average 10 Pharmacy close every month in England." Prime Minister was further asked "will he take urgent action to prevent further closing and commission a properly funded 'Pharmacy First' service for minor illnesses? Sunak replied: "I've been a wholehearted champion and believer in the role that community pharmacists can play. we want to make sure that they can do everything to ease some of the pressures in primary care.

YouGov polling commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has revealed that majority of the people responding to the poll said that they would be concern by the pharmacy closure in their locality. The results show the extent of the public backing for a Pharmacy First approach - PSNC has been arguing that a fully-funded service would be beneficial for pharmacies, patients and the wider NHS. The poll witnessed 1,774 adults' participation from England. It showed 68 per cent of people agree that they would find it easier to seek health advice for common conditions, such as skin conditions or indigestion, at a community pharmacy rather than a GP surgery. Only 11 per cent disagreed that this would be easier. While 75 per cent of people agree that they would like to see community pharmacies offering more healthcare services such as treating urinary tract infections or sore throats. Only 6 per cent strongly disagreed with this. When asked how important, if at all, are the services provided by community pharmacies to them, their family, or community, 78 per cent indicted this was very important. Only 14 per cent said this wasn't important. 77 per cent said they would be very concerned if the pharmacy they use most often were to close permanently. Only 19 per cent said they would not be very concerned.

The result from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS)'s survey showed that pharmacists witnessed 'the cost of living is having an impact on whether people can afford prescription medicines in England'. RPS has long campaigned to remove prescription charges for people with long-term conditions in England because they create a financial barrier to patients receiving the medicines needed to keep them well. The charge currently stands at £9.35 per item prescrib9ed and an annual rise usually occurs in April. Prescriptions are free for people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. One in two pharmacists who responded to the survey said they've seen an increase in the last six months in patients asking them which medicines on their prescription they can 'do without' due to affordability issues. One in two pharmacists had seen a rise in people not collecting their prescription, whilst two out of three pharmacists reported an increase in being asked if there was a cheaper, over-the-counter substitute for the medicine they had been prescribed.