The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has called the future prime minister to deliver on the commitments made by the previous health secretaries to reform
primary care through a 'pharmacy first' approach and fairly fund community pharmacies to avoid closures.
In an open letter, the NPA has urged Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, the two leadership contenders of the Conservative Party and prime ministerial candidates, to think
radically about the role of England's 11,000 pharmacies, which are on the frontline of healthcare across the country.
NPA also highlighted how pharmacies could help clear the NHS backlog, free up millions more GP appointments, dramatically improve access to primary health care and
do more to prevent ill health and support people with long term medical conditions.
"Because of our unparalleled presence in deprived areas, we also have great potential to level up access to healthcare and address health inequalities. We set these
ideas out in How We Can Help, which is an improvement plan already welcomed by many of your colleagues."
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) views the COVID vaccination programme as broadly successful, largely due to the efforts of healthcare workers and
volunteers.
However, it cited some areas that could be improved, notably the early involvement of community pharmacies in planning, operational challenges, and recognising
the role of community pharmacy in addressing vaccine hesitancy and inequalities.
Submitting its evidence to the Covid-19 Inquiry, the NPA highlighted that the community pharmacy should have been consulted and involved earlier in the planning
process, considering their two years of experience and expertise in administering annual influenza vaccination programs and the reach and resources of the 14,000
community pharmacies across the UK.
"Instead, community pharmacy was initially given a gap in service role, which failed to fully utilize their experience, expertise and resource," Lawyer Brian
Stanton told the Inquiry on behalf of the NPA during the Module 4 Preliminary Hearing on 22 May.
To provide a portable access of Pharmacy Support and Advice Service to pharmacists and technicians, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has launched an 'Associate Pharmacist' subscription.
The service, comprising priority news-feed and email alerts, also includes NPA Learn - the association's Learning and Development hub.
The offering to associates includes an annual online flu refresher or discounted full face-to-face vaccination training programme.
NPA director of membership, Simon Tebbutt, said: "Associate Pharmacist is an offer to individuals, not to pharmacy businesses. We find that many pharmacists and technicians come into contact with NPA resources and like them, experiencing their quality as they move from pharmacy to pharmacy, either as a locum or as part of their career-building.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and BeWell are working together to help provide efficiencies and productivity that address the growing pressures within
community pharmacy.
BeWell's Pharmacy Management Platform provides robust solutions that include Patient Relationship Management, Omnichannel Communications and Engagement, Services
and Bookings Management, access to patient records, NHS Login supported Patient Application, and repeat prescription capabilities for Pharmacy Website and Patient
App that include integrations with Surgery Online Services.
This single interoperable platform is also integrated with pharmacy PMRs, connecting back office and administrative functions with front-of-house digital patient
experiences. In line with the NPA's vision, BeWell has taken a leading role in formulating a unique ecosystem of pharmacy partners uniting marketing agencies,
PGD-based service providers, and delivery method partners - integrating their capabilities within the BeWell platform.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) is distributing new campaign materials to pharmacies across England this week to empower them to advocate for fair
funding in the forthcoming general election.
These include campaign posters, stickers, postcards for patients to send to MPs and petition materials.
By supplying these resources, the NPA aims to boost its cross-sector #SaveOurPharmacies campaign and help pharmacies raise local and national awareness of the
funding crisis that is forcing pharmacies to close at the rate of 10 a week.
NPA chief executive Paul Rees said: "Pharmacies are under crushing financial pressure. We want to help them join our efforts to raise the profile of the funding
crisis and make the public and politicians fully aware of the threat to our much-loved pharmacy network.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has been in dialogue with the senior management of NHS Property Services to bring down the rent for community
pharmacies based in NHS health centres.
Association said: "Community pharmacies based in NHS health centres are struggling to make ends meet due to expensive rental rates."
It is calling for pharmacies to have the ability to renegotiate rental rates part way through a contract.
Gareth Jones, Director of Corporate Affairs at the NPA, said landlords need to take into account that pharmacy spending power is shrinking and the previous formula
used to set rental rates is no longer fit for purpose.
"It no longer makes sense to calculate based on historical assumptions about how many prescriptions the co-located GP will generate for the pharmacy," he said.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) Board has elected 14 Board members on Friday (30 March) that will govern the association for next two years.
Four new Board members have been elected while five previous members left the Board after serving their terms. The period April 2023 to March 2025 will see the
completion of the transition to the new Board structure.
The Board will meet again on Monday (24 April) to elect the Chair and other appointments.
Gareth Jones, Returning Officer for the NPA Board elections, said: "The NPA has undertaken a process of significant modernisation of organisational governance over
the past years. Key elements of this process include adopting modern new Articles of Association, reforming the structure of the Board and introducing term limits.
The process of electing the Board has also been changed so that half of the Board will be up for election every two years - which supports continuity and reduces the
risk of a loss of organisational memory."
"Recognising that the Board would already be losing a lot of organisational memory in 2023 with five members of Board standing down, the Board determined that three
individuals should be co-opted onto the new Board as the process of transformation continues. In March 2025, anyone that has served 12 years or more will be required
to stand down."
The UK has witnessed a nearly 50 percent increase in pharmacy closures this year compared to the same period in 2023, which was already considered the
worst year in recent memory.
A new analysis by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) revealed that 177 pharmacies closed their doors between January and April 2024, compared to 116 in the
same period last year. This is the equivalent of 10 local pharmacies shutting down every week.
Analysis of NHS figures by the NPA showed that 403 pharmacies closed their doors last year, nearly five times higher than the number that closed in 2022.
Since 2017, over 1,400 pharmacies have shut down across the UK.
Rising costs and declining real terms funding have led to the fastest rate of closures in decades, said the NPA, highlighting that "real terms funding has
decreased by 40 per cent over the last decade."
Community pharmacy should be involved in key decisions in neighbourhoods and systems to help reduce workload and increase patient access, a roundtable
organised by the National Pharmacy Association to discuss a recent review on primary care integration has concluded.
The NPA said it would be sending the recently published report on the roundtable to local pharmaceutical committees (LPCs) and other local pharmacy leaders as a
tool to help them engage with Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) which will become statutory bodies from July 1.
The 'Fuller Stocktake: Community Pharmacy Roundtable' report, published on June 13 by the NPA, is based on a meeting hosted by the association on behalf of the NHS
team running a key review of primary care integration, the so-called 'Fuller Stocktake'.
NPA integration lead, Michael Lennox, said: "The NPA recognises the critical importance of our LPC network colleagues being there for contractors at the 42 local
systems level and influencing to fulfil the laudable ambitions of the Fuller Report.
"We ensured that community pharmacy voices were heard in the stocktake process and now that conversation needs to be amplified locally."
In a decisive move highlighting the financial strain faced by community pharmacies, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) submitted a £108 million invoice
to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) today (16 May).
According to the NPA, this substantial sum represents the amount that pharmacies in England personally covered for the dispensing of NHS medicines last month, as a
result of inadequate funding.
"The £108m figure is an average monthly figure based on the loss to pharmacy incomes over the past decade," it said.
The association believes that mass closures can be prevented only when the government stops expecting pharmacies to subsidise the cost of delivering NHS care.
NPA chief executive Paul Rees, said: "The soaring costs of dispensing medicine coupled with declining real terms funding has led to community pharmacies in
England having to subsidise the dispensing of drugs to the tune of £108m a month.
As part of its centenary celebrations, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has raised more than eleven thousand pounds for mental health charity Mind.
A total of £11,583 was raised for Mind and the Association continues to encourage members to support the charity.
The NPA marked its 100th birthday in 2021 and partnered with Mind in England and Wales, and equivalent charities in Scotland and Northern Ireland - SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health) and Inspire Wellbeing - to raise awareness of pharmacy services for people with mental health problems and to generate funds for the work of these charities.
The NPA held set-piece events, such as sponsored walks, and pharmacists, colleagues and their families and friends were encouraged to organise their own activities.
Chief executive of the NPA, Mark Lyonette, said: "I was delighted to be at our sponsored walk in St Albans, home of our head office, last year. This and other fundraising events all underlined the message that community pharmacies are concerned with the wellbeing of the whole person - mind as well as body."
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has commissioned Professor David Taylor of University College London to investigate the implications of all-time high
inflation rates on community pharmacies in the UK.
Professor Taylor's will assess rates of inflation affecting community pharmacy across the UK, using public data sources whilst examining inflated costs in the
context of the current five year contractual framework in England (2019-2024).
He would review the EY (Ernst & Young) report into pharmacy funding, to identify whether current inflationary pressures could change any of the findings and
consider the policy implications and impacts of inflationary pressures, including pharmacy's ability to prepare for a more clinically focused future and maintain
current core services.
NPA chief executive Mark Lyonette said: "Inflationary pressures are eating into the limited funds provided by the NHS for pharmacy services. We believe the real
level of inflation for pharmacy businesses could be higher than the CPI inflation rate, which itself is at a 40 year high. Staff and locum costs in the sector as
well as medicines costs have risen dramatically.
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.
National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has appointed Nick Kaye as its new chair on Monday (24 April).
He has taken over the chairmanship from Andrew Lane, who stood down last month after serving his maximum term.
Nick, who part-owns Hendra Pharmacy in Cornwall will serve for two years as NPA chair, after being elected unopposed at the first meeting of the new NPA board.
Jay Badenhorst, Managing Director and Superintendent Pharmacist for Whitworth Chemists in the North East of England, is now vice-chair.
Michael Guerin, the Managing Director and Superintendent Pharmacist of the Medicare group in Northern Ireland, continues as Treasurer.
Nick Kaye said: "As a third generation community pharmacist, I feel very privileged to serve the sector that I love so dearly in this way.
"Andrew will be a hard act to follow. But I can promise my unwavering commitment to independent community pharmacy, with Jay and Michael's 's support, plus that
of board colleagues and our dedicated executive team.
Ensuring comprehensive healthcare services for the community necessitates collaboration between pharmacies and GP surgeries. However, several pharmacists
have voiced concerns about a lack of cooperation from their local GPs in implementing the Pharmacy First (PF) service.
In a survey conducted by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) covering 470 pharmacies across England, three-quarters of pharmacists (77 per cent) indicated
that local GP practices are not appropriately referring patients to the new service.
The survey highlighted instances of patients either not being referred or being referred but found ineligible for support through Pharmacy First. Additionally,
one in five NPA members (19 per cent) felt that their local GP practices were not engaging with the initiative at all.
Commenting on the issue, NPA chair Nick Kaye said: "Feedback from across our network suggests that the rollout of Pharmacy First varies considerably from area
to area.
The public awareness campaign for community pharmacy, 'Ask Your Pharmacist Week' this year will be on 31 October - 7 November, the National Pharmacy
Association (NPA) has announced.
Every year AYP Week is held across the UK, with an aim to raise awareness of pharmacy services and to prompt conversations with key stakeholders at a local
level about community pharmacy's role and benefits.
Activities in previous years have ranged from public exhibitions and window posters to social media campaigns, projects with patient groups and visits to pharmacies
from local dignitaries and politicians.
NPA Head of Communications, Stephen Fishwick, said, "AYP Week is an important fixture in the pharmacy calendar, as it creates a space for focused public awareness
activities to help customers, patients and stakeholders understand more fully the community pharmacy offer.
We want people to be more aware of long-standing and new NHS services plus the skills and expertise on offer in pharmacies across the UK. AYP also aims to cultivate
a richer dialogue with key stakeholders, which in England now includes leaders in Integrated Care Systems."
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."
National Pharmacy Association (NPA) urged the NHS England to make local impact assessment a key requirement prior to any recruitment into Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), to help tackle workforce crisis.
With inputs from LPCs, PCNs and CCGs should consider the impact of the creation of new roles on all health care providers in the area and on their ability to deliver their objectives on behalf of the NHS, it said.
The NPA believes that creation of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) programme is impacting community pharmacy services in some areas and contributing to the ongoing workforce shortage.
In a letter addressed to Ed Waller, director of Primary Care for NHS England, NPA chief executive Mark Lyonette highlighted the challenges emerged following a shortage of pharmacists and other members of staff.
The community pharmacy bodies, along with England's largest pharmacy chains, have urged the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak to resolve fund and workforce crisis
in the sector.
In the joint letter the Chief Executives of Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp), Company Chemists' Association (CCA), National Pharmacy Association
(NPA) and Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC), along with Boots, Lloydspharmacy, Well and Rowlands Pharmacy, said they are pleased to see Government
now recognising the key role that community pharmacy' could have in alleviating the strain on other NHS services.
However, the associations also warn that although the sector is ready to support, 'this will not be possible unless pharmacy is properly funded.'
Janet Morrison, PSNC Chief Executive, said: "The Prime Minister should also know that community pharmacies are also facing a crisis. They need sustainable investment,
urgently, if we are to avoid devasting consequences for pharmacies and for their patients."
The letter calls on Government to help pharmacy to resolve the funding, workforce and capacity issues engulfing the sector. It said: "Community pharmacies are in
crisis and after 7 years of 30% funding cuts have reached their limit."
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, during today's (15th May ) Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs), reiterated his commitment to supporting community pharmacies amidst
growing concerns over pharmacy closures.
Addressing questions regarding the Pharmacy First initiative, Sunak assured the House of Commons of his dedication to bolstering resources for these vital healthcare
providers.
In response to a query raised by Member of Parliament, St Ives MP Derek Thomas, citing statistics from the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) about "committing to
directing funds towards Community Pharmacy to alleviate financial pressure and prevent closures, Sunak remarked that he "cares deeply about the future of community
pharmacies."
Sunak acknowledged the indispensable role played by community pharmacists in alleviating pressure on urgent care services, emphasising the importance of initiatives
like Pharmacy First in government's commitment to supporting community pharmacies.
"There are over 10 and a half Community pharmacies across the country working incredibly hard to serve their patients," Sunak said praising the community pharmacists
and highlighted the concerning trend of pharmacy closures, citing a significant increase compared to the previous year.
