The CCA, fellow pharmacy bodies and MPs handed in a letter to Downing Street signed by 50 Parliamentarians and urging immediate action to address funding and workforce pressures. The letter also called for the implementation of a fully-funded Pharmacy First service in England.
Malcolm Harrison, Chief Executive of the Company Chemists’ Association said:
“Community pharmacy is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The sector has the potential to do more to alleviate the pressure on GPs and other overstretched parts of the NHS. Unfortunately, our ambitions are being stifled by years of underfunding, which is now calculated to be around £67,0001 a year per pharmacy. Dire economic pressures have undoubtedly been a significant factor in the net loss of 720 pharmacies in England since 2015. We also know that unfortunately a disproportionate number of permanent closures have occurred in our poorest communities, where the healthcare needs are often the greatest.
If we are to plot our path to a brighter place in community pharmacy, now is the time to look for solutions – and a fully funded Pharmacy First model is the way forward.
The Prime Minister must now stand with community pharmacies, for the benefit of patients and the public.”