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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.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has called on the NHS England to uplift funding for pharmacy contractors to enable them to cover higher staffing costs along with a range of other cost-inflating factors. This follows latest data released by the recruitment platform Locate a Locum, which showed a huge increase in locum rates for pharmacists in 2021 and predicted the trend to continue. The report noted a 71 per cent surge in the cost of employing locum pharmacists in England, from the 2020 average to the second half of 2021. NPA chief executive Mark Lyonette said: "There is a heavy reliance on locums in community pharmacy to maintain continuity of services with the average pharmacy operating 50 hours per week. Consequently, increases in locum rates have a big effect on the cost base. "Pharmacies face a range of general cost pressures beyond locum rates, including much higher energy costs. We hear a lot about the cost of living crisis; our members are facing a cost of doing business crisis and it's every bit as real. "The underlying underfunding, significant general inflationary pressures and specific cost increases relating to the locum workforce together make a powerful and urgent case for new funding."

The Community Pharmacy England Committee has adopted a new approach to engagement with sector by inviting all pharmacy owners to share their views on pharmacy's finances, pressures and capacity ahead of its meeting in July. It has sought views of pharmacists via short poll by Sunday (2 July) and will have a discussion on the poll results at the meeting before reporting back to the sector afterwards. The key focus for July Committee Meeting will be to make most of £645m for the community pharmacy sector, and also on the ongoing work to make the wider case for more investment in the sector. This new way of working follows association's rebrand on 30th May which signalled the start of its new approach to engagement to help them to build stronger relationships with pharmacy owners. The association hopes this new approach will help them better engage with members and listen to pharmacy's views better.

Community Pharmacy Wales and the Welsh government have entered an agreement on Thursday (December 16), enabling all pharmacies to deliver provision of contraception, treatment for common minor ailments, and access to repeat medicines in an emergency. Expansion of clinical community pharmacy service will be supported with an increased funding of £20 million a year by April 2024 from the current level of £11.4m. The two bodies have been negotiating the terms of agreement, which also includes plans to roll out a Wales-wide pharmacy prescribing service, allowing trained pharmacists to treat an extended range of conditions that currently require GP visits. The agreement will allow patients to access NHS services closer to home which in turn would free up GP and other NHS services for patients with more complex needs. Eluned Morgan MS, minister for Health and Social Services said: "I welcome the positive approach to negotiations taken by Community Pharmacy Wales, embracing our ambition for a reimagined community pharmacy service, which is an integral part of a strong primary care landscape."

Lord Markham, a health minister suggested the House of Lords on Tuesday (10 January) that plan of 'using pharmacies more for patient will put funding their way', just like allocation of Covid vaccine provided support. In a statement to the House of Lords he praised the sector saying they are a 'crucial part of the front line'. His statement was in response to a question from Lord Grade, who is campaigning on behalf of the community pharmacy sector. Lord Grade warned Government that it must take action before pharmacies start to close. On Monday (9 January) the Health Secretary, Steve Barclay MP, commented: "There are many more things that community pharmacists can support with that can ease pressure on General Practice. The Primary Care recovery plan will set out a range of additional services that Community Pharmacy can deliver."

The nationwide implementation of the Pharmacy First service is viewed as a significant development that benefits pharmacies, primary care, and the broader National Health Service (NHS). Pharmacy teams are striving to ensure its success despite challenges within the industry landscape. However, not all pharmacists are able to reap the benefits from it. Recently, two members of Numark shared their experiences of how the scheme is impacting their pharmacies. Graham Phillips, who owns Letchworth Pharmacy in Hertfordshire, revealed that patients are responding favourably to the service. "It's all good, people are just delighted to have easier access to care," he said. In its first month, Letchworth Pharmacy provided around 100 consultations, and Phillips envisions that as the service matures, they will be able to conduct an average of 200 interventions per week. "That will make it financially viable for us and mean that we're acting at scale from an NHS perspective. That's 200 GP appointments we've freed up in a week - that's a huge capability and capacity bump for the NHS," he added. Graham credits part of his success with Pharmacy First to the strong relationship he has established with local GPs in his area.

Eighty-five per cent of adults responding to a survey commissioned by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) have agreed that community pharmacies are underfunded and that the sector needs more investment to be able to do the work it does. The survey of 1,000+ adults in England was carried out online between August 26 and 30 by an agency called Research Without Barriers (RWB) on behalf of the NPA. Pharmacies in England are now paid less for providing NHS services than they were before the Covid-19 pandemic, after years of real terms cuts. Seventy-four per cent respondents think it's unfair that community pharmacies in England have had no increase in funding for eight years, despite rising business costs. When asked whether it's fair or unfair that pharmacies in England are now paid less for providing NHS services than they were before the pandemic, 81 per cent of people replied that it's unfair.

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."

Data crunched by an online pharmacy delivery company paints a concerning picture for the pharmacy sector in England. Gophr's 'Prescription For Pressure' initiative reveals a challenging time for the sector and is supported by separate analysis by the BBC showing that the number of pharmacies in England is at its lowest since 2010. In addition, new powers being introduced for pharmacists to prescribe common prescription drugs and perform routine tests create an even greater workload for already overstretched pharmacists. Gophr's data reveals that: * Each pharmacy in England serves an average of 6,078 people. * In 2022, pharmacists dispensed 1.043 billion prescriptions, 26.3 million more than 2021. * A single pharmacy in England dispensed 248 prescriptions a day on average in 2022. Based on the most up-to-date statistics from the Office for National Statistics, NHS England and Statista, Gophr's calculations show that pharmacists have around 116 seconds to dispense a prescription, which is less time than the 180 seconds it takes to make a Quarter Pounder at McDonald's.

Pharmacy bodies have welcomed the new minister in charge of the profession amid warnings that he will find the sector in a state that is "more fragile that ever" due to "untenable funding and workforce pressures". Neil O'Brien was re-appointed as parliamentary under secretary of state in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on October 25 and was later assigned the pharmacy brief. The Conservative MP for Harborough - who will have a wide-ranging portfolio of responsibilities, including primary care and pharmacy - has taken over the position from Will Quince MP, who had a brief stint as pharmacy minister but remains at the department on a different role. O'Brien was was handed a junior minister's job at DHSC on 7 September 2022 in the government led by Liz Truss but fellow Conservative Quince was assigned primary care duties including pharmacy. Welcoming him to his new role, The Company Chemists' Association said that the minister would find that the community pharmacy sector was "more fragile than ever" with untenable pressures over funding and workforce.

The current funding and contractual framework for community pharmacy is not fit for purpose, the Health and Social Care Committee report has concluded, recommending a complete overhaul to reduce its complexity. Published today, the report highlighted the necessity for a new framework to ensure adequate funding and to prevent damaging cross-subsidy between clinical services and prescription dispensing, as is presently observed. The report revealed that community pharmacy funding has fallen by over 30 per cent in real terms since 2015, resulting in an annual shortfall of at least £67,000 per pharmacy for individual owners. More than 1,100 community pharmacies have closed since 2015, of which were serving the most deprived areas, it said. MPs on the committee have urged the government to address medicine shortages, warning that they could undermine flagship initiatives such as 'Pharmacy First' by eroding public confidence in pharmacists. "People living with type 2 diabetes, ADHD, epilepsy and cystic fibrosis, and those experiencing the menopause, have faced challenges accessing the vital medication they need. Many others are facing similar experiences.

Steve McCabe, the Labour MP for Birmingham, Selly Oak says a "vicious" NHS contract has been forcing community pharmacies into bankruptcy. Asking his question in parliament during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday (March 8), McCabe said he has heard Rishi Sunak speak fondly about working in his mother's community pharmacy. The MP asked how would the prime minister feel "if 600 pharmacies close this year because of a vicious NHS contract which takes no account of rising costs and is forcing many into bankruptcy?" The prime minister responded by saying that community pharmacies do fantastic work and that his government was looking at ways in which it could support the sector to do even more. Sunak said: "I praise the work that our community pharmacies do. They are fantastic at being on the frontline of delivering primary care. And as I've said previously the government is exploring ways in which we can support them to do even more.

Two pharmacies in Rotherham are set to merge into one, if plans are approved by NHS England. Weldricks Pharmacy has applied to merge its two Swinton branches, on Church Street and the Crown Street Surgery. If approved, the branch on Church Street will be modernised, and additional consulting rooms will be added, while the Crown Street site will be closed. Rotherham Met Borough Council's health and wellbeing board are set to make a representation supporting the plans, and say that analysis by public health "outlines the very minimal impact that this change will have in terms of pharmacy access in the borough based on the service offer, opening hours and walking times to this branch and the main pharmacy." They say the current opening hours will remain the same, and there will be no disruption to services during the consolidation. A statement from Weldricks adds that the decision to merge is down to funding cuts, and the company could go out of business if operating costs are not reduced - 'despite having been a local, family-owned business for almost 100 years'.

Knights Pharmacy has significantly expanded its footprint in South Wales through its recent acquisition of pharmacies in Abercarn and Cwmcarn from the Evans Group. This move marks another strategic expansion for the Redditch-based pharmacy group, bolstered by funding from HSBC UK. The Abercarn site, which handles approximately 12,000 medication items annually, and the Cwmcarn site, dispensing around 5,000 items, will now operate under the Knights Pharmacy banner. This acquisition adds to Knights Pharmacy's growing portfolio, which now spans 49 community sites across England and Wales, a substantial increase from 18 sites just three years ago.

Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has backed pharmacists to play a greater clinical role in the health and well-being of the nation, describing them as "valuable and trusted" members of the community. Pharmacists have faced a difficult year with 222 community pharmacies closing in just the first six months. Boots alone will be closing 300 branches over the next 12 months. Sunak, however, insisted that his government knows the "hard work of pharmacy teams", and that he wants to "enable them to do more to support the NHS." Speaking at the annual Sigma Conference in London on Sunday (5 November), the prime minister reiterated that community pharmacy is in line for a much-needed boost in funding. "Earlier this year, the government announced plans for further investment of up to £645 million over the next few years to support the Pharmacy First service for patients," Sunak said in a letter read out at the conference by Lord Dolar Popat. "This means that community pharmacies will be able to assess patients and provide some options to protect them without a GP appointment."

Community pharmacies will be able to deliver approximately 15 million blood pressure screenings by 2026, revealed the Company Chemists' Association (CCA)'s new research. This will also prevent 15,000 people from suffering heart attacks or strokes. CCA has called the Government to take up their offer and commission pharmacies as the first port of call for cardiovascular care. "Thousands of lives can be saved with ambitious commissioning and the investment to match," said CCA. There is an opportunity to use the expertise of community pharmacy to go further and provide the care these newly identified patients' need. To do this the sector needs funding and workforce. The association said: "Community pharmacy is under great financial pressure, suffering a real term funding cut of over 30% over 8 years. With funding, the sector can transform to deliver this critical need for patients. Whilst there are plans to train Independent Prescribers (IPs), there are no clear roles for them to use these skills. There is a need to accelerate training plans to allow pharmacists to deliver the service described here and play their part in CVD management."

More than 300 fully-funded training places will be open to pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working in adult critical care units in England this year. NHS England has awarded a contract to the UK Clinical Pharmacy Association (UKCPA) to deliver 200 funded continuing professional development places for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians from April 2024. Another school of pharmacy, the name of which has not been announced yet, will deliver 100 funded places on a pharmacist adult critical care pathway. There are already 15 funded places on an adult critical care training pathway for pharmacy technicians provided by the University of Bradford. Reacting to evidence indicating workforce concerns in critical care, NHS England invited bids from training providers for delivering the training in November 2023.

As Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announces the forthcoming UK general election, pharmacy bodies are calling on all political parties to commit to solving the issues facing the sector. The next UK general election will be held on 4 July, Sunak announced it on Wednesday afternoon during a press conference outside 10 Downing Street. "As the election is called it's imperative that any incoming government addresses the crisis in primary care and the looming cliff edge facing pharmacies, which for millions of people are the front door to the NHS and a crucial source of frontline health care," said Paul Rees, Chief Executive of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA). Noting that the first responsibility of the government is to keep its people safe and healthy, he emphasised the importance of addressing the "deep funding gap that is pushing record numbers of pharmacies to the edge of closure and beyond, exacerbating the issues of waiting lists for GPs and hospital care."

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has taken an interesting step to increase public awareness and understanding of the Pharmacy First service. The organisation has launched a new video animation that provides clear and concise information about the service, highlighting the seven conditions covered, the eligible age ranges within the clinical pathways consultations, and explaining how patients can access these services. Pharmacy owners and their teams are encouraged to use the new animation with existing resources to communicate the benefits and scope of the service to their  patients. The animation can be linked to pharmacy social media content and downloaded for display on digital screens in pharmacies. General practices are also encouraged to use the animation on digital screens in their practice waiting areas.

Community pharmacies are located within the very hotspots of peoples' communities, yet a staggering 720 individual businesses have stopped trading since 2015. It has been called a "national disgrace and a betrayal to the elderly and the vulnerable" by sector leaders. The funding crisis has been compounded by a gruelling 18-24 months post-Covid, both have which have placed immense pressure on the retail pharmacy sector. The population is aging and with this comes patients living with a range of long-term health conditions. Medication regimes are becoming ever more complex and as a result, maintaining prescription and medication adherence services is challenging to say the least. Yet the public feel great warmth towards their local pharmacy businesses, and this positive attitude only increased during the pandemic. In fact, in a recent report launched by Omnicell on the Changing Role of the Pharmacist, a survey of public opinion found that a third (32 per cent) said they perception of their local pharmacy had changed for the better since the start of the pandemic and nearly half (44 per cent) said they are more familiar with their local pharmacy services since the start of COVID. This has meant that the role of the pharmacist has also changed and evolved; in part due to a national need and drive for more patients to be seen and supported clinically by pharmacists. This change of service provider role has slowly been developing over the last couple of years. Pharmacists are currently carrying out 65 million consultations a year - a staggering rise of 44 per cent in the last 24 months alone.