Two-thirds of pharmacies slash opening hours due to funding squeeze
Richard Thomas,
20 Jun 2024
3 Min
Business
Two-thirds of pharmacies slash opening hours due to funding squeeze
Richard Thomas,
20 Jun 20243 Min
In Business
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Around two-thirds of pharmacies in England have had to cut their opening hours since 2015 due to extreme funding pressures, new analysis published by the NPA today (June 20) has found.
The NPA's analysis found that on average there has been a 6.1 hour reduction (10 per cent) in opening hours for every pharmacy, reducing patient access, with many pharmacies having no choice but to shut on weekends or reduce evening opening times due to the funding cuts, says the NPA.
The findings have been published on the same day as community pharmacies across the UK turn out their lights, black out their windows or ask their staff to wear black as part of a day of action to highlight the impact of declining funding for pharmacies – a drop of 40 per cent in real terms over the last ten years in England alone.
The NPA’s analysis of pharmacies from locations across England between 2015-24 found that:
- 63 per cent had cut their opening hours since 2015, with only 2.5 per cent of pharmacies increasing their hours during this period
- In 2015, pharmacies were open for an average of 54.2 hours a week compared to 48.1 hours in 2024
- Nearly 5 per cent of the pharmacies sampled had shut their doors completely during the period.
The NPA warns that the growing crisis is “pushing an increasing number of pharmacies to the brink”, with most forced to reduce their opening hours “in order to survive”.
A February survey of pharmacies by the trade body showed 64 per cent of respondents were using personal life savings or support from family members to sustain their pharmacy and 79 per cent said that they or their family members were working without proper pay.
During the last decade, 1,400 pharmacies have closed in England alone, with 10 currently closing each week.
The NPA called today’s day of action to highlight the challenges facing community pharmacies and for all political parties to commit to reversing historic funding reductions, including providing pharmacies with at least 2.5 per cent of the overall NHS budget.
The date was chosen because it is from June 20 that a typical community pharmacy effectively starts to work for the NHS for free, analysis by the NPA has shown.
There is typically only enough NHS funding to cover costs for the first three weeks of any month – after which the pharmacy owners are subsidising work they should be paid to do by the Government, the trade body claims, adding that the day of action is “unprecedented”.
Last resort
Paul Rees, NPA chief executive, said: “Cutting opening hours is a last resort for pharmacies desperately trying to make ends meet in the face of a decade of cuts, which is why they feel compelled to take action to protest against what is the worst crisis in the community pharmacy sector in living memory.
“A shocking 1,400 community pharmacies have closed in England in the last decade. There have also been closures in Wales and Northern Ireland – and there is now a real risk of closures in Scotland. We need the politicians to wake up to the fact there is now a state of emergency within community pharmacy across our four nations.
“Many pharmacy owners will go to great lengths to keep their pharmacy open, including borrowing money from friends or family, remortgaging their own homes and reducing their opening hours.
“The current situation is unsustainable and, with three-quarters of pharmacies in the red, many are simply being pushed to the brink.
“That’s why we are taking the unprecedented step of organising a day of pharmacy protests across the four nations, to highlight the fact that community pharmacies are now in a state of emergency.
“If we are to end cuts to services and more closures, all political parties must commit to a new deal for pharmacies, including a funding uplift and an end to the dispensing of medicines at a loss.”
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