The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) survey revealed that 93 per cent of respondents experienced 'at least one month' of negative cash flow across their
pharmacy business in 2022.
Nine out of 10 pharmacy owners responding to NPA survey said they made a net loss dispensing medicines for the NHS during 2022, for at least one month of the year.
According to the poll, 48 per cent of them lost money on this core NHS service for six months or more. 45 per cent said their overall outgoings had exceeded overall
income in at least six months of the year.
NPA Chair Andrew Lane said: "This survey shows the bleak financial reality facing many independent pharmacies after years of underfunding. Dispensing at a loss and
negative cashflow is clearly unsustainable."
"This funding crisis must be addressed urgently or pharmacies will fall into a spiral of declining services and ultimately widespread closures, he added. "Tragically,
the story is playing out very much in line with independent research commissioned by the NPA last year, which warned of a nationwide financial emergency in our
sector."
A snap survey conducted by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) revealed that over half of community pharmacy teams have felt unsafe in the past week
due to ongoing riots across the country.
The survey, which included responses from approximately 350 community pharmacies, also found that one in three pharmacies had considered closing because of
safety concerns, while 13 per cent of pharmacy teams reported experiencing racist comments during this period.
According to the NPA, over 40 per cent of pharmacists are of South Asian, Black, or other ethnic minority backgrounds, with the majority of independent community
pharmacy owners believed to be of South Asian heritage.
The association reports that businesses had been vandalised during the riots, leading some pharmacies to reduce their opening hours or close entirely, following
advice from the police and local authorities.
Despite a recent decline in disorder over the last few days, police have been advised to remain on high alert over the weekend.
Patients are highly satisfied with the new Pharmacy First service, which enables pharmacists to assess and treat patients for seven common conditions,
according to a survey by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).
Nearly 100 NPA members participated in the snapshot poll conducted at the end of the first full week of the service.
Nine in ten respondents (87 per cent) said that "most or all patients expressed satisfaction" with the service they received.
However, many independent community pharmacy owners are facing challenges in implementing the service.
While 56 per cent of pharmacy owners surveyed expressed feeling "motivated" by the new service, a larger proportion (70 per cent) indicated being "under
additional pressure."
More than 30 per cent of the respondents found implementation of the service "harder" than they had expected.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society's (RPS) second roundtable on workforce wellbeing resulted in a series of collaborative actions to address pharmacy
professionals' mental health and wellbeing challenges.
The roundtable brought together key stakeholders from the pharmacy sector, including organisations like the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), Community
Pharmacy England (CPE), the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), and the profession's independent charity Pharmacist Support (PS).
A report detailing the outcomes of the meeting was published on Friday, highlighting the key areas of discussion and the agreed-upon actions by the participants.
During the roundtable, participants discussed the importance of understanding the workforce demographics, both nationally and locally, and using data to address
wellbeing issues effectively.
They also emphasised the need for using supportive standards set by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) quality
statement to support and empower pharmacists' wellbeing positively.
Pharmacy bodies have urged the Health Select Committee to hold the government to account on pharmacy funding and workforce challenges.
In a show of unity, leaders from the sector came together to write a joint letter to the chair of the committee and former health secretary Jeremy Hunt and bring to
his attention how financial pressures worsened by nearly a decade of a real-term decrease in funding have made the sector virtually untenable.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC)'s recently published 'Pharmacy Pressures Survey' confirms how this has had an impact on pharmacy contractors,
their teams as well as patients.
The survey found that 91 per cent of pharmacies are experiencing staff shortages. At the same time, demand for community pharmacists has risen - nine in ten pharmacy
teams reported a significant increase in phone calls from patients about prescriptions, and 86 per cent reported a rise in requests for healthcare advice.
The letter to Jeremy Hunt is signed on behalf of the four chief executives of the PSNC, the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp), the Company
Chemists' Association (CCA) and the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).