Christophe Coat/ Alamy Stock Photo
Almost half (47%) of community pharmacy contractors in Wales said they had reduced staffing levels as part of measures to keep their business afloat in the previous 12 months, a Community Pharmacy Wales (CPW) survey has found.
Results of CPW’s most recent pressure survey, published on 9 September 2026, also revealed that when asked how their businesses’ current financial position compared with this time last year, 63% of respondents said that it had got worse, while 28% said it had stayed the same and just 9% said it had improved.
CPW surveyed community pharmacy contractors in Wales over four weeks in June 2026 and received 154 responses.
The survey results showed that when asked what actions they had taken in the previous 12 months to keep their businesses afloat, pharmacy contractors said they had reduced or stopped taking a salary (38%), had stopped providing free prescription deliveries (34%) and had reduced their pharmacy’s opening hours (16%).
The biggest factor impacting finances was medicine purchase costs that were above the reimbursement provided, with 86% of respondents citing this, the survey results highlighted.
One respondent commented: “Our NHS return is sometimes not meeting our drug payments from wholesalers.
“Supplying medicines at a loss is killing us, on top of the chronic underfunding that the sector in Wales has faced for far too long.”
Price concessions, issued by the Welsh government, often tally with concessions issued by the Department of Health and Social Care in England. In addition, the number of concessions reached record highs in 2026.
The survey results also showed that almost half (49%) of respondents said that they were “not confident” that their pharmacy would be financially viable in the next 12 months.
Nine in ten (90%) respondents said that increasing funding would help the sustainability of their pharmacy, while a similar proportion (88%) cited improved reimbursement as something that would help, the survey results revealed.
“Confidence in financial viability is low, with very few respondents expressing strong confidence in the future,” CPW noted in its survey report.
“Without meaningful changes to funding and reimbursement, many pharmacies indicate they may be forced to reduce capacity, withdraw services or exit the sector altogether, with potential implications for patient access to care across Wales.”
Geraldine McCaffrey, director for Wales at the Royal College of Pharmacy, said: “Community pharmacies are delivering an increasingly important range of clinical services, but pharmacy teams are under very real pressure, as demonstrated by this survey and our own annual wellbeing surveys of the profession.
“Through our work, we have consistently raised concerns about workforce pressures, burnout and the need for protected learning time, as well as publishing a detailed report with clear recommendations on how medicines shortages can be better managed. We have also worked in partnership with CPW, hosting a briefing event specifically on community pharmacy pressures at the Senedd last year.
“The new Welsh government has committed to shifting more resources towards primary care, and we were encouraged by the cabinet secretary’s comments at our recent conference, recognising pharmacy’s vital role in strengthening primary care and building resilience across the NHS. We hope this recognition will now be matched by the support needed to ensure a sustainable community pharmacy network and enable pharmacists to continue delivering vital care for patients.”
The results of a National Pharmacy Association survey, published in February 2026, showed that nearly two-thirds (60%) of pharmacy owners in Wales who responded had remortgaged their house or used personal savings to keep their business running in 2025.
