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More than half of National Pharmacy Association (NPA) members surveyed are worried about their businesses’ survival, according to Andrew Lane, the NPA’s vice chair.
Speaking at a Conservative Health forum on the future of pharmacy, held at the House of Lords on 19 February 2019, Lane told the audience that 54% of those surveyed had expressed concerns about their businesses’ future. Some nine out of ten (89%) respondents said their monthly wholesaler bill exceeded their NHS payment, which meant that their dispensing costs were not being covered.
In January 2019, Mike Dent, director of pharmacy funding at the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC), said the Committee was “very concerned” about the ongoing financial pressures on the sector and the impact this will have on pharmacies in England. Dent was speaking after news of reductions in Category M prices and the single activity fee, which led the PSNC to estimate an average decrease of at least £2,000 in pharmacy payments in January 2019, compared with December 2018.
Around 250 NPA members responded to the survey, and further details are due to be published following a full analysis of the results.
