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The National Pharmacy Association chair Nick Kaye has today warned pharmacies face a “financial cliff edge” in a few weeks’ time as the new financial year is set to bring about the “triple whammy” of national insurance, national living wage and business rates increases.

As funding talks between Community Pharmacy England and Labour continue, the NPA said pharmacies were facing £250 million of “unplanned costs”, leaving them at risk of closure.

Kaye (pictured) insisted pharmacies across the country “have no certainty if any of these costs”, which come into effect at the start of April, will be met by the government.

Warning “pharmacies have shut in record numbers” while others are “hanging on by their fingernails”, Kaye said: “They are growing increasingly concerned about their future. Without imminent funding certainty from the government we may be left with little choice but to recommend collective action to ensure pharmacies can survive for the patients who rely on them.”

The NPA reiterated its warning that it will urge its members to take collective action, such as reducing their opening hours, “if a new funding settlement which meets these costs is not announced by the government imminently”.

“Many pharmacies are reporting bills of tens of thousands of pounds which are unfunded, on top of managing the impact of real terms cuts of 40 per cent over the past decade which has forced record numbers to close already,” the NPA said.

“On top of this, many pharmacies will also face an estimated 140 per cent increases in their business rates, further pushing up costs.”