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.
The Pharmaceutical Defence Association (PDA) has urged health ministers of the UK to take a strict and necessary action against the unnecessary closures of
pharmacy.
Concerned over the rising number of pharmacy closures, PDA has written an open letter to health secretary Steve Barclay; Robin Swann, health minister for Northern
Ireland; Eluned Morgan, minister of health and social services for Wales; and Humza Yousaf, the Scottish health secretary.
In its letter, PDA said: "The minister of health must now ensure the regulation of poor business behaviours and be prepared to take over rogue pharmacies, however
large their corporate owner may be. If patients' access to NHS services is to be protected from the consequences of avoidable full or part-day pharmacy closures."
The association believes it is only a matter of time before serious harm to patients' health will be caused by the decisions of mainly large chains of pharmacies to
close some of their branches for all or part of a day, instead of engaging an available pharmacist to cover their agreed opening hours.
"While a small number of unforeseen closures have always occurred from time to time in pharmacies for genuine reasons, the indiscriminate scale at which closures
have now become commonplace seems to have evolved over the last 20 months."
The Company Chemists' Association (CCA)'s research has found that between 2015 and 2022 more than 40 per cent of permanent community pharmacy closures took
place in the 20 per cent most deprived parts of England.
The association has analysed the NHS data and found that between 2015 and 2022, 808 pharmacies closed permanently in England. In that period, only 138 new pharmacies
opened - a net loss of 670 community pharmacies.
It also examined where permanent closures had taken place. "41% of net permanent closures had taken place in the top 20% most deprived areas in England. Meanwhile,
only 9% of net permanent closures took place in the top 20% least deprived areas."
Although the latest figures for 2021/22 suggest that the overall rate of closures may be slowing down, the proportion of pharmacies permanently shutting in more
deprived areas has only increased.
An even larger share of pharmacies that permanently shut in 2021/22 occurred in the most deprived areas compared with the previous fiscal year: 44% of net closures
took place within the bottom two IMD deciles.
Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham, highlighted the impact of the community pharmacy closures in the Hampton area, and the severe
financial challenges facing community pharmacies across England during an adjournment debate in the House of Commons on Friday.
She also raised concerns about the impenetrable bureaucratic processes surrounding new pharmacy license applications and closures.
Wilson highlighted the closure of two Boots pharmacies in Hampton last autumn, including one in the deprived ward of Hampton North.
The Tangley Park pharmacy closure left the entire ward, which lacks adequate public transport, without a pharmacy, severely affecting elderly and vulnerable
residents.
"The nearest pharmacy is now a mile away on foot, a distance which is difficult to cover for the elderly and those with mobility issues, certainly more than
a 20-minute walk, the measure that previous ministers like to use to highlight pharmacy accessibility," she said.
Two dozen parliamentarians from across the political spectrum have called on the prime minister to act as a wave of pharmacy closures in recent years has
threatened to spiral out of control.
A letter to the prime minister signed by 24 MPs and peers has warned that worse could be yet to come after "spiralling business costs" and "year after year of real
terms funding cuts" have led to hundreds of pharmacy closures.
New data from the PSNC shows that over 639 local pharmacies have been lost in England since 2016.
"This is the equivalent to just short of one pharmacy closure per constituency", the cross-party group warned.
The letter comes as MPs came together at a parliamentary summit to call for pharmacies to be embraced as a "game-changer" for tackling healthcare backlogs and taking
pressure off other areas of the NHS. A 'Future of Pharmacy' event was attended by 53 parliamentarians on July 5 in the Palace of Westminster.
At the event parliamentarians heard directly from frontline pharmacists and representatives of pharmacy bodies where a map of constituency-specific pharmacy numbers
was also unveiled, with details of the number of pharmacy closures in MPs' local area.
A recent survey conducted by YouGov for the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has highlighted concerning trends in the community pharmacy sector.
The survey published on July 18 and conducted over two days in June this year reveals the subsequent challenges patients face due to the increasing pharmacy
closure rates.
The survey findings, conducted among 2,183 UK adults, indicates that 18 per cent of the respondents reported at least one pharmacy closure in their local area
within the past year.
Specifically, 12 per cent respondents noted closure of one pharmacy, while 6 per cent observed the shutdown of more than one.
These closures are distributed across various regions, underscoring a nationwide issue rather than an isolated one.
The Company Chemists' Association (CCA)'s analysis on permanent closures of community pharmacies in England showed that there has been a net loss of 670
pharmacies between 2015 and 2022.
The analysis highlighted that 37 per cent of permanent closures of pharmacies and GP practices have occurred in the 20 per cent most deprived parts of England.
Current trends indicate that primary care 'cold spots' could soon emerge - areas where there is significantly reduced or inadequate access to a pharmacy or a GP.
The CCA's analysis shows that some of the most deprived neighbourhoods concentrated in the North West, the West Midlands and Yorkshire have faced the highest losses
of local pharmacies and GP practices since 2015.
It demonstrates that the trend of permanent closures amongst pharmacies and GP practices is worsening. Moreover, this burden is likely to be felt unevenly with
permanent closures occurring disproportionately in areas of high deprivation. Without action, deprived communities, where need is typically greater, may no longer
be able to access the GP and pharmacy services they require.
A winter NHS crisis is inevitable unless the government acts now to reverse the worrying decline in community pharmacies. Years of government underfunding could
see 3,000 pharmacies in England - around a third of the network - having no option but to shut their doors to patients in the next few years.
That figure is based on independent assessments from Ernst & Young and UCL/LSE healthcare professors: it is not scaremongering - it is the reality the country faces.
Fifty per cent of pharmacies are already in financial distress because government funding has been falling in real terms since 2019 and that figure is predicted to
rise to 75 per cent within the next two years.
The government needs to act now and invest in pharmacy or sleepwalk into a healthcare disaster as we have seen with access to dentistry care. Prescription volumes
have risen consistently year-on-year by roughly 2 per cent which means fewer pharmacies doing more work and under greater pressure than a decade ago. Ten years ago
around 11,200 pharmacies in England were dispensing roughly 79,000 prescriptions; nowadays around 11,500 are dispensing roughly 89,000 prescriptions.
The secretary of state recently asked pharmacy to do more to avoid a winter NHS crisis and at the same time said there will be no new money to pay for those
additional services. This at a time when the network is in decline with random unplanned pharmacy closures - 640 closures since 2016 - and pharmacy staff face huge
workload pressures as prescription demand is increasing year-on-year. The government's approach to pharmacy literally does not add up: the pharmacy contract is not
fit-for-purpose now let alone dealing with a NHS winter crisis.
Lloyds Pharmacy's closure of all its 1,300 branches will wake-up the ministers and NHS officials to the reality of community pharmacy sector in England has
reached crisis point, expressed Nigel Swift Managing Director of Rowlands pharmacy and Deputy Managing Director of PHOENIX UK.
On Friday, The SUN reported that the UK's second largest pharmacy provider - is allegedly in the process of selling its entire estate of 1300 branches. Lloyds
Pharmacy will no longer be a High Street presence following its decision to put all its pharmacy branches at the risk of closure. In January it has announced to
close its 237 Sainsbury-based pharmacies.
Nigel highlighted the fact that community pharmacy is struggling due to insufficient government funding and immense pressures on GPs and A&E departments - an ongoing
issue which poses a very real threat to the sector.
Commenting on the announcement, he said: "It's not just Lloyds - an independent analysis by Ernst & Young estimated that 75% of community pharmacies will be in
financial distress in the coming years. £750 million has been taken out of the English contract due to inflation since it began."
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 trade bodies and four largest pharmacy chains in England, have jointly written to the Secretary of State for Health, Steve Barclay, warning that the sector
needs urgent investment for sustainability.
The letter from AIMp, CCA, NPA, PSNC, Boots UK, Lloyds Pharmacy, Well, and Phoenix UK, warned that the 30 per cent real terms funding cuts that pharmacies have faced
over the past seven years have left many businesses in a cashflow crisis.
The letter said that the government is facing a choice over the future of the country's 11,000+ community pharmacies, with permanent closures likely and medicines
supply at risk if no urgent action is taken.
"If the funding situation is not addressed, the sector is likely to move rapidly towards many permanent closures of pharmacies."
The organisations say that once these closures start, they will be hard to stop, as the sector is now so fragile other pharmacies would struggle to pick up the slack.
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."
All pharmacy businesses are reporting that they are struggling to find the registered professionals needed to open their pharmacies, clarified the Company
Chemists' Association (CCA) in response to an attack by the Pharmacists' Defence Association.
Last week, PDA allegedly accused some large pharmacy chains of 'orchestrating' full or part-time closures of some of their shops due to the staff shortage.
In its Open Letter published on Tuesday (July 19), PDA demanded urgent action "to protect patients by ensuring that essential community pharmacy services are
provided safely and consistently".
"All parts of the healthcare system are struggling to recruit staff and to assume that pharmacies would be immune to such pressures, seems fanciful," said CCA.
"CCA members are working extraordinarily hard to prevent temporary closures, but recruitment and retention of pharmacists is becoming increasingly tough. The recent
rise in Covid cases and the beginning of the summer holiday season in parts of the UK have only worsened the situation."
The Association also showed data from the PSNC Pharmacy Pressures Survey (April 2022) which found that 91 per cent of pharmacies are experiencing staff shortages,
clearly demonstrating that these shortages are affecting the entire sector.
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."
The Company Chemists Association (CCA)'s 'Prospectus for community pharmacy' has revealed that community pharmacies can release over 42 million appointments
from general practice every year.
In its prospect, the association calculated that community pharmacies could reduce hospital readmissions by 65,000 and administer an additional 10m routine vaccines
annually.
The prospectus sets out bold ideas and proposals regarding the future of community pharmacy. The association said: "Community pharmacies already work collaboratively
with the NHS to ensure that patients can access care easily and safely. Whilst the sector has evolved considerably in recent years, the CCA proposes that pharmacies
could do even more to directly tackle key problems for patients."
CCA is concerned that without immediate action pharmacy closures will become increasingly common. "Fewer pharmacies will considerably diminish access to vital
medicines and services, with the greatest impact on those in deprived communities."
Boots has welcomed job applications from LloydsPharmacy staff impacted by the news of closure of all its branches located in Sainsbury's before the end of 2023.
The company is recruiting for more than 1,500 pharmacy roles nationwide. Vacancies span pharmacy roles at all levels - from Pharmacy Advisors (Dispensers) and
Trainee Pharmacists to experienced Pharmacists looking to develop their careers.
Sebastian James, Managing Director of Boots UK & ROI, said: "Pharmacies deliver vital healthcare in the heart of communities. News of the closure of LloydsPharmacy
branches within Sainsbury's stores will no doubt have an impact on many talented pharmacists as well as their patients.
"We have many roles available at Boots and welcome applications from LloydsPharmacy employees affected by the closures. Patients who are worried about their future
pharmacy provision can check our store locator online to find out where their nearest Boots store is - our pharmacy team members are ready to help."
There are over 2,200 Boots stores across the UK and 85% of the population live within 10 minutes of a Boots store.
With the UK General Election set for 4 July, pharmacy bodies are actively engaging with all political parties to secure support for the community pharmacy
sector. They are pressing parties to address urgent issues such as pharmacy closures and medicine shortages.
"The upcoming general election is a critical opportunity for us to strengthen supporters of community pharmacy in readiness for the new Parliament," said Janet
Morrison, chief executive of Community Pharmacy England (CPE).
She stressed the need for unity within the sector in advocating for community pharmacy and raising awareness of the issues with election candidates from all parties.
As the general election approaches, CPE has called upon all political parties to support pharmacies by "introducing a long-term sustainable funding model and
reviewing the medicines supply chain, including much-needed short-term relief measures."
A new report commissioned by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has revealed harsh financial realities faced by community pharmacies in England.
The report by Professor David Taylor of University College London warned that 1000s of community pharmacy closure might take place by 2024 in England if the sector
was not supported with additional funds.
At the launch of the report titled 'Protecting UK Public Interests in NHS Community Pharmacy', Prof Taylor said: "There will be several 1,000s of closures over the
next few years unless we take appropriate action, which doesn't mean to pour money all over it, but it is to fund appropriately when necessary.
"At the moment, if we got a partial collapse in the pharmacy network it would disrupt medicine supply and increase health inequalities… For me, it's missing out on
the future development of better and more accessible care, which would be the tragedy of reducing, harming and damaging the pharmacy network unnecessarily."
In its response to a Freedom of Information Request (FOI), the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has confirmed a net decrease of 101 pharmacies
in England - with 371 closures and 270 new contracts. Meanwhile, the General Pharmaceutical Council data projected a drop of 43 registered pharmacies in England,
Wales, and Scotland for the year ending March 31, 2023, compared to the preceding period.
The data, released by business advisor Christie & Co in its annual pharmacy market review on Sept. 5, revealed a total of 14,328 pharmacies across all four UK
country regions as of March 31, 2023, indicating a 0.3 per cent decrease from the previous year. Corporate operators experienced a net reduction of 249 pharmacies,
while the total number of independent operators remained consistent with 2022.
According to the study, the corporate sector saw the most substantial shift, with a 13.7 per cent reduction in businesses operating 300 or more pharmacies.
Following closely, groups managing 11 to 15 pharmacies experienced a 5.6 per cent decrease. Christie & Co attributed this shift in group size to operators
acquiring additional pharmacies through corporate disposal opportunities throughout the year.
"If the Government does not support community pharmacies with the relevant funding, then we will see a massive number of closures," warns Dr. Leyla Hannbeck,
chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA).
The Fight4Pharmacies campaign, led by the IPA, is urging prime minister Rishi Sunak to address a critical £1.2 billion funding shortfall that threatens the survival
of independent pharmacies across the UK.
This urgent plea comes as 1,000 community pharmacies have closed since 2019 due to rising operational costs and insufficient reimbursements.
On May 21, supporters of the Fight4Pharmacies campaign, along with 50 MPs including prominent figures like Priti Patel and Gavin Williamson, delivered a petition
to Downing Street.
The petition, Prescription to Save Our Pharmacies outlines how independent community pharmacies can be supported to ensure smooth running of pharmacies.