Community pharmacies contributed a net value of £3bn to the NHS, public sector, patients and wider society in England in 2015 through just 12 services, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study released yesterday.

This means that community pharmacies deliver substantially more in benefits than they receive in compensation, said PSNC, who commissioned the study.

Services analysed included supervised consumption, emergency hormonal contraception provision, minor ailments, delivering prescriptions and managing drug shortages. Pharmacies made more than 150 million interventions through the services, creating a benefit of more than £250,000 per pharmacy, or £54.61 for every resident of England.

Breaking this combined contribution down, it was found that:

• The NHS received a net value of £1,352m, including cash savings as a result of cost efficiencies and avoided NHS treatment costs
• Other public sector bodies (eg, local authorities) and wider society together received over £1bn through increased output, avoided deaths and reduced pressure on other services such as social care and justice
• Patients received around £600m, mainly in the form of reduced travel time to alternative NHS settings.

From these services alone, community pharmacy contributed an in-year benefit of £3 billion in 2015, with a further £1.9 billion expected to accrue over the next 20 years.

 

Sue Sharpe, chief executive of PSNC, said: “PwC’s research shows that community pharmacies punch above their weight in terms of economic value. This is the evidence ministers need to make the case for continued investment in community pharmacies, developing these services even further to bring additional benefits to the NHS and wider society."