The National Pharmacy Association has once again threatened the government that it will advise its members to take collective action this month, such as withdrawing services to patients and reducing opening hours, if it fails to start funding talks.

As pharmacies across England continue to struggle to stay open because of inadequate funding and rising overheads, Labour has still not met with Community Pharmacy England to thrash out the terms of the 2024-25 contract. Last month, Labour unveiled proposals for the new GP contract for 2025-26.

The NPA today warned community pharmacy has been left out of contract for 300 days and time is running out for the government to come to the negotiating table and discuss new terms.

CPE told Independent Community Pharmacist yesterday it still waiting for word from Labour on when those talks will start. CPE chief executive Janet Morrison said she was “deeply frustrated and angry” and urged Labour to begin talks this month.

“It is unacceptable that community pharmacy’s negotiations have not yet re-commenced since being halted for the general election in May 2024, putting services to patients and medicine supply at further risk,” she said.

The NPA said continued delays would leave them with “little choice but to advise pharmacies to take collective action” which would also include withdrawing free medicine deliveries to patients.

Last month, 99 per cent of pharmacies balloted by the NPA said they would be prepared to take collective action. It would be the first time in history community pharmacy had taken action of this kind.

Warning “pharmacies were being abandoned in the dark,” the NPA said Labour’s delay in starting talks was forcing pharmacy owners to take out six-figure loans in an attempt to stay open.

Some pharmacies, the NPA said, had been unable to invest in staff and facilities “because of crippling uncertainty over current year budgets.” The NPA warned poor funding has led to “record numbers of pharmacy closures.”

“Funding has been cut by 40 per cent in real terms over the last decade at the same time as workload has substantially increased, leading to 700 pharmacy closures in the last two years alone,” it said.

Warning as much as 95 per cent of an average community pharmacy’s income is generated from contractual NHS services, the NPA said: “The current contractual arrangements for community pharmacies expired on 31st March 2024 and pharmacies have been working without a new contract since then despite now being more than nine months into the financial year.”

I borrowed £125,000 to get pharmacy through the year

Some pharmacists told the NPA about the desperate situation current funding had left them in. Ashley Cohen, who runs pharmacy chain Pharm-Assist (Healthcare) Ltd in Leeds, said he has had to go to the bank twice since January last year and borrowed £125,000 to get his business through the year.

“There is only so many times you can inject money from savings accounts, borrow from the bank or cash in on pension pots to keep your business afloat,” he said.

Reena Barai, who owns SG Barai Pharmacy in Sutton, said she was unable to make any decisions about her pharmacy, including taking on staff, improving her premises and offering new services.

“I am in the dark as to the contract I am supposed to be working to and the financial remuneration attributed to it,” she said. She insisted the government’s plans to increase national insurance contributions will be “a huge blow for all pharmacy owners as with no contract, we have no certainty as to how we will pay for it.”

Kevin Simpson, a pharmacy owner in Sunderland, said he has a list of suppliers who are waiting to be paid and insisted he will write to the NHS telling them he will reduce his opening hours this month.

Sukhi Basra, who runs Clinichem Pharmacy in London, said financial pressures caused have forced her “into heart-wrenching decisions.”

“We’ve always gone above and beyond for our patients. Late night openings, weekend services, and the extra time we gave to those in need were part of who we were as a pharmacy. But now, those services are gone,” she said.

“The reality of operating on such tight margins has left us with no choice but to cut back. Each decision feels like a failure, not of effort, but of resources.”