Pharmacies to cut opening hours and services in protest move

In an unprecedented move, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has called for 6,000 member pharmacies in England to reduce opening hours and services from April 1.

The proposed action is in protest about the absence of a financial settlement that covers increased operational costs. These include National Insurance, National Living Wage and Business rates.

Pharmacies are yet to receive any confirmation of funding for either the 2024/25 or 25/26 financial years. The NPA calculates that pharmacies have seen around a 40 per cent cut to this funding in real terms since 2017. It says around 1,300 pharmacies have closed since 2017.

NPA members are asked to give notice of reducing opening hours or other services, including evening and weekend opening, limiting home deliveries and withdrawing from some locally commissioned schemes like addiction support.

This is the first time in the NPA's 104-year history that such a move has been taken.

In November, an NPA member survey found that 97.8 per cent would serve notice on opening hours above the minimum required by their contract.

A wholesale reduction in hours could result in up to one million hours in pharmacy time lost over the next year.

NPA members have also written an open letter to NHS England demanding the immediate release of the independent economic analysis of pharmacy finances commissioned last autumn.

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