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Regulatory changes were laid in parliament yesterday (June 2) that will see a ban on new distance selling pharmacies (DSPs) entering the market in England after June 23. 

After that date, no new applications to open an online pharmacy will be accepted by NHS England – sparking speculation that the next three weeks may see an intense rush of last-minute applications to obtain new DSP contracts. 

“Similar to the previous 100-hour pharmacy exemption, the DSP route to establish a new pharmacy will now be closed,” Community Pharmacy England said of the changes to Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services Regulations (PLPS). 

CPE added: “Any new DSP applications submitted on or before 22 June 2025 will be determined in accordance with the current market entry test, i.e. the test that was in effect on and before 22 June 2025.” 

The announcement does not affects DSPs that are already on a pharmaceutical list. 

“This is really big news in the pharmacy world,” said solicitor Conor Daly, a partner at Rushport Advisory LLP. In a LinkedIn article, he said the move would prompt “mixed emotions” across the sector.

Describing it as possibly “the last chance” to obtain an NHS pharmacy contract without having to prove a need for pharmaceutical services in the local area, Mr Daly said the decision “marks something of a U-turn” for the Department of Health and Social Care. 

He commented: “Originally, the DSP route was seen as a way of providing better access to services for patients who struggled to access their local pharmacy, but the reality is that the majority of new applications were more about obtaining the NHS contract rather than providing a national service.

“It is hard to imagine another ‘loophole’ like this being created by the NHS as the previous ones have all proven to be less than successful.”

Critics of the current DSP rules have complained that a majority of pharmacies with a DSP contract distribute medicines in their immediate local area rather than on an England-wide basis, as they are required to under the PLPS. 

The regulation changes laid in parliament yesterday also effect changes previously announced as part of the 2025-26 contractual framework.

From October 1, DSPs will no longer be able to provide NHS-commissioned services face-to-face from their registered premises, with the exception of flu and Covid vaccinations, which will be permitted until March 31, 2026. 

This has been controversial in some quarters amid accusations that the policy is “anti-competitive”. 

And from June 23, pharmacy contractors will have a new route to apply to change the dates and times of their opening hours, with applications granted on the basis that the “proposed new core opening hours must better meet the needs of their patients and users of the pharmacy” said CPE.