Around 95% of services that are offered by smaller pharmacies are funded by the NHS.
Larger pharmacies can offer private services to boost their income but for independent pharmacies, high inflation costs and delayed payments from the NHS, has led to some owners needing to cover the costs with their own private funds.
Andrew Lane is an Oxfordshire based pharmacist and former chair of the NPA and said, “Some of my colleagues are having to re-mortgage their homes, cash in their pensions, which should not be the situation in business which is primarily an NHS business.”
The sector received an additional £5.1bn in the spring, but with increases to employer National Insurance contributions and higher running costs, the NPA believes an additional £2.6bn is needed to ensure the sector’s survival.
