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Sector leaders have welcomed the NPA ballot results, which demonstrate that community pharmacies are prepared to take collective action if a funding increase is not achieved. Nearly all pharmacy owners, who participated in the NPA ballot, said they were willing to limit their services to protest funding cuts. Commenting on the poll results, Malcolm Harrison, CEO of the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) said: "The results of the NPA ballot serves to underline the huge pressure that pharmacy contractors face, following a decade of underfunding. He emphasised the need to start the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) renegotiations for 2024/25 without delay. "The government and NHS must uplift all elements of the contractual framework, to stop further reductions in pharmacy opening hours and permanent pharmacy closures, and to ensure that patients can continue to receive the medicines and clinical care and advice they need," he added. Harry McQuillan, Chairman of Numark, stated that while the NPA ballot outcome has once again brought the financial crisis facing the sector into focus, this is "an everyday reality" for many independent pharmacies and that it has reached "breaking point." He warned that rising operational costs including the increase in national insurance and minimum wage will push many more to the brink.

Community pharmacies are bracing themselves to withdraw services from patients after an industry ballot supported plans for major action unless the government provided a significant increase in funding for the sector. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) on Tuesday (12) announced the results of an unprecedented collective action ballot in which nearly all pharmacy owners, who participated in the ballot, voted to limit their services, insisting that a lack of additional funding is jeopardising patients health and safety. Over 63 per cent of NPA members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland took part in the ballot- representing 3,049 independent community pharmacies in England alone, or 3,399 with Wales and Northern Ireland included. Nearly 98 per cent of pharmacy owners in England voted to reduce their opening hours to the minimum required by their contract. This could result in fewer pharmacies remaining open during evenings and weekends. More than 93 per cent voted to stop offering "unfunded" free home deliveries of medicines, and over 96 per cent voted to withdraw from locally commissioned services, including certain addiction support, emergency contraception, and stop smoking services.

It was an unprecedented move, to call for the first ballot in the 103-year history of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), and now the organisation has warned that it's more than just a scare tactic and pharmacies will go through with action in January if there isn't an acceptable resolution forthcoming from the government. "We're looking for the government to consider our ballot, digest the results, and then come up with a proper proposal for community pharmacy - a fair deal," chief executive officer Paul Ree told Pharmacy Business. "If that's not forthcoming, we've got a board meeting in a couple of weeks, we then need to decide when to take action, but we would be looking at taking action in January." The NPA announced the results of the collective action ballot on 14 November in which nearly all pharmacy owners, who participated in the ballot, voted to limit their services, insisting that a lack of additional funding is jeopardising patient health and safety. "Our members have voted, they've spoken clearly, and unless the government come up with a fair deal soon, we will regrettably have to move to the next step, which is calling for action," said Rees.

David Thomas, owner of LT Chemists in Newport, will replace Raj Aggarwal OBE as the next National Pharmacy Association (NPA) board member for Wales, following an uncontested election this month. Following the conclusion of a nomination process last week, Baldev Bange, Aisling O'Brien, Sehar Shahid, and Sanjay Ganvir have been re-elected to the Board, representing areas of England and Scotland. Ashley Cohen, Sanjeev Panesar, Sukhi Basra, Salim Jetha, Olivier Picard, and Nick Kaye continue their terms without needing to stand for election this time. They still have another two years to run on their terms as board members. Two board positions remain open. The nomination process is ongoing in Northern Ireland, while in England, five NPA members are contesting the remaining seat, which is open to any member with up to five pharmacies. Hustings for the remaining board position in England will take place shortly and a ballot for this position will take place later this month, according to a statement from NPA.