Philippa Roxby and Dominic Hughes
Healthy correspondents
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About 6,000 community pharmacies in England are, for the first time, that we advise to start “working to govern” in two weeks, unless an agreement can be concluded with the government on a new NHS contract.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) urges its members to limit the opening hours to 40 per week, as indicated in the current contract, because they have not yet received a funding confirmation for this exercise or the next one.
They could also reduce services such as the delivery of drugs to people’s houses, support for drug addiction and emergency contraception.
The government said that this decision would lead to “unnecessary disturbances for patients” and that a regulation with pharmacies was already under work.
Anxiety
The NHS contract of a pharmacy represents on average around 90% of its income.
And with the increase in national insurance, national decent salary and commercial prices, from April 1, pharmacies claim that the lack of agreement on their contract arouses concern and uncertainty.
This occurs in more than a decade of financing cuts, which has seen 30 pharmacies closed since the beginning of this year, according to the NPA.
Some 3,000 pharmacy owners in England, Wales and Northern Ireland voted for action in November.
Nick Kaye, who presides over the NPA, said that the pharmacies had been “with little choice”.
“It is better that we temporarily reduce short-term access than allow pharmacies to collapse completely under the weight of unsustainable operating costs,” he said.
There had been few comments from the ministers and the impact of current uncertainty was “devastating” for pharmacies, added Mr. Kaye.
“We want to continue to see patients, pay our staff, do not have to think about closing and invest in our business for the future.”
“ Unnecessary disturbance ”
The Ministry of Health and Social Coins said that pharmacies had a vital role to play while the NHS objective moved from hospitals and in the community – and that negotiations on a contract made progress.
“The preventive action of the National Pharmacy Association will result in unnecessary disruption for patients and we urge them to reconsider,” said an official.
Healthwatch England, who records the experiences and concerns of people who use health and social care services, have urged the government to conclude negotiations with pharmacies as soon as possible.
Benedict Knox, from Healthwatch England, said many patients had seen their local pharmacy close or undergo disturbances due to the staff shortage.
“This problem especially has an impact on the elderly and is particularly acute in rural areas, where people often have to travel further to visit their pharmacist,” he said.
But he pointed out that all community pharmacies were not a member of the NPA and it was everyone to decide if they reduced the services.
There are around 10,500 pharmacies in England, according to Community Pharmacy England, which represents all pharmacy owners.
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