- The government and NHS want them to prescribe some medicines themselves
Plans for pharmacies to provide more NHS care are at risk due to widespread closures, MPs warned today.
The government and NHS England want pharmacies to reduce pressure on GPs by carrying out more health checks and prescribing some of their own medicines.
But the Corporate Chemists Association (CCA), the trade body for chains such as Boots and Superdrug, said a lack of funding and staff could hamper the move.
Chief executive Malcolm Harrison will tell MPs on the House of Commons health and social care committee today that there has been a net loss of 1,008 pharmacies in England since 2015.
CCA analysis shows that an average of eight pharmacies have closed each week this financial year alone, with others struggling to survive.
Deprived areas are most dependent on pharmacies but are worst affected by closures, with 37.5% of pharmacies closing between 2015 and June 2023 located in the most deprived 20% of areas in the country.
The National Health Service (NHS) in England will launch a “pharmacy first” scheme early next year to direct patients to pharmacists for treatment in a bid to free up 10 million GP appointment slots.
Pharmacists will be able to provide advice and NHS-funded treatment for seven common conditions – sinusitis, sore throat, middle ear infection, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles and female simplex urinary tract infection.
NHS England also announced last week that from next month, millions of women will be able to get the pill from a pharmacist instead of visiting their GP.
However, the CCA said NHS pharmacy budgets have been cut in real terms since 2015-16, resulting in an annual loss of £67,000 per pharmacy.
This limits their ability to hire staff and expand services, the report added.
Meanwhile, nearly 4,000 community pharmacists have quit their jobs to work in GP surgeries carrying out medication checks for patients taking mixed medicines.
Mr Harrison told the Daily Mail: “A toxic combination of funding, workforce and workplace pressures is limiting pharmacies from delivering the services the government wants them to deliver.
“Pharmacies are providing more services and dispensing more medications while funding continues to decrease. This is simply unsustainable.
It is estimated that about 89.2% of the population live within a 20-minute walk of a pharmacy. But the CCA is concerned that if patients have to travel further to see a doctor, they will be less likely to seek treatment.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Community pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system, supported by £2.6 billion every year.
“We have announced £645 million in funding to support community pharmacies to provide prescription medicines for seven common conditions without patients having to visit their GP.”