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One in six pharmacies have been forced to cut their weekend opening hours due to funding pressures, an analysis by the National Pharmacy Association has revealed. 

The NPA’s number crunching shows around 1,600 pharmacies have cut weekend hours since 2022, with eight per cent closing entirely on Saturdays and Sundays. 

The trade body said funding cuts have “led directly to reduced access to medicines and health advice… particularly on Sundays”. Just 17 per cent of pharmacies now open on Sundays, it found. 

The analysis shows pharmacy weekend opening hours have been cut by 20 per cent in the last four years, with more than 16,000 hours of pharmacy time lost and Kent, Birmingham and Lancashire seeing “some of the steepest drops”. 

NPA chair Olivier Picard commented: “This is yet more evidence that the pharmacy network in England is creaking at the seams after facing deep cuts over a number of years. 

“Sadly, the real losers are the millions of patients these pharmacies serve, particularly those in rural areas who are forced to travel long distances or even go to hospital if they need a prescription or advice for a minor health issue on a Sunday or late at night. 

“Pharmacists have huge potential to take away pressure from the rest of the health system but the reality is that they are hanging on by their fingertips, raiding pension pots or remortgaging homes to stay open. 

“Although we recognise the Government took a step forwards last year, much of the uplift disappeared to cover increasing costs including National Insurance and National Living Wage contributions. 

“Like the Government, we want to expand NHS services to patients but this can only happen with sustained and significant investment.”

Company Chemists’ Association chief executive Malcolm Harrison said: “Without additional funding, more pharmacies will be forced to scale back hours or close altogether. 

“This would make it harder for patients to get medicines and everyday health advice locally, especially at weekends and late at night, and would push more people towards already overcrowded urgent care and A&E services. 

“The Government recently acknowledged that funding for pharmacies today is £800m less in real terms than it was a decade ago. 

“If the NHS wants patients to be able to access pharmaceutical services in the evenings, late nights and at weekends, it must be prepared to fund it.”